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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29376180">Expect the Unexpected</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireflySummerwynd/pseuds/FireflySummerwynd'>FireflySummerwynd</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Poison (US Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Divorce, F/M, Illness, Reconciliation, godzilla flu, unexpected</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:21:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>53,436</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29376180</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireflySummerwynd/pseuds/FireflySummerwynd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Nobody expected the World to come to a sudden, screeching halt in the Spring of 2020. Nobody expectsta be told that their grown kid's as fragile as a premature infant, and may have only hoursta live. And <em>definitely</em> nobody expectsta have to make a phone call to their former spouse, bearing that kinda bad news.</p>
<p>But that's exactly the position 56-Year-old veteran rocker Rob <em>Bobby</em> Dall finds himself in one Night in March of 2020. Even though he's all but despised her for nearly 20 Years after their divorce, he's forced to call his ex-wife with the horrific news that their grown son may not make it through the Night. After all, he'd be a horrible father–the very kind he's striven <em>not</em> to be–if he <em>didn't</em> make that phone call.</p>
<p>However, nobody expected Mishy to fly out to Florida, only to get trapped there by mandatory shutdowns and quarantines. Surely, such an unexpected occurrence won't End in tragedy, after all–will it? No, but maybe this so-called family that more than puts the <em>fun</em> in dysfunction needsta take to heart the old adage about expecting the unexpected...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bobby Dall/Mishy Sanders</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Orlando, Florida</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>        March, 2020</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p><em>“Mishy, I know we haven’t had much of anything to do with each other in literally decades, and believe me</em>–<em>I Wish I was calling with</em> good <em>news. Butcha need to get out here to Florida ASAP, or you’ll regret not getting to tell Zak how much ya love him one last Time.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Very few people ever wanna have anything to do with a former spouse once their divorce’s been finalized, even for something as routine as a custody switch-off for visitation purposes. But nobody ever wantsta have to make a call to a former spouse so they can inform them that their child might very well be about to take their last breath–even after that child’s grown. Unfortunately, that was the very call that veteran rocker Rob <em>Bobby</em> Dall found himself making after being forced to rush his twenty-nine-Year-old son to the emergency room in the middle of the Night.</p>
<p>        Already exhausted from having been trying to take care of him for the better part of a week, he was certain that the only thing to keep him awake’d been pure adrenaline. With the emergence of what he, personally called <em>Godzilla Flu,</em> he’d known it was very possible that any of his family–immediate and distant–could come down with the potentially fatal virus. But as healthy as Zak’d always been, he’d hoped and prayed that neither he, nor his baby sister’d wind up diagnosed with it.</p>
<p>        Unfortunately, the Silver Fox felt like his prayers’d gone unheard–or at the very least, that a God he was starting to lose Faith in had simply decided not to answer them. At first, it’d seemed like his son’d just caught a late-Season chest cold, which’d happened a few Times over the course of his Life. Even though he hadn’t thought it a reason to worry, he’d still taken it upon himself to head over to said son’s apartment to check on him nearly every Day after finding out he wasn’t feeling good. But going over to check on him, even when the younger man’d insisted that he didn’t need to, was prolly the only reason he was still alive. He was in bad shape, and there was no guarantee he’d pull through, considering the diagnosis he’d gotten, but for now, he was still alive.</p>
<p>        Having to sit next to his son’s bed in the ICU, more or less trapped here since he was under a quarantine of his own now, almost put Rob at his breaking point. All the tubes and wires running between his baby boy and the machines and bottles keeping him alive was a sight that’d bring any man to his knees. Knowing that his ex-wife, the boy’s mother, was in Texas with her second husband and may not get to see him again before the worst possibly happened–that was what finally brought tearsta his eyes and made them slip down his cheeks.</p>
<p>        “Son, I know ya can still hear me,” he said, his voice soft, but rough and gritty as he bit back a sob. “If ya don’t pull through this for me, ya gotta do it for Mama and Zoe. Ya know I’ve been through a lotta shit in my Life, and even though losing a child ain’t gonna be easy, I can get through it–but those two won’t come outta this sane, if ya don’t pull through.”</p>
<p>        The Silver Fox knew he wasn’t gonna get a response since Zak was sedated and on Life support, so he wasn’t surprised when he only heard the continued noises made by the respirator he was on.</p>
<p>        “Ya gotta keep fighting, lil man,” Rob told him. “If nothing else, then for Mama to get here and see ya one more Time before…”</p>
<p>        He couldn’t bring himself to finish that sentence, not even wanting to think about how irrevocably his Life’d Change, if his son were to become another statistic of this virus. But he certainly didn’t wanna think about the guilt he’d harbor till he drew his own dying breath for not calling his ex-wife sooner than when he did so she’d have gotten more Time with Zak before the worst happened.</p>
<p>        For that reason, he was a bit surprised to feel the hand he was holding twitch, a slight smile curving his lips when that twitch turned into a gentle squeeze. Part of him was surprised that his son was able to fight the sedation enough to give him a sign that he was still in there and fighting, but another part wasn’t. This young man’d inherited his own stubborn streak, and he and his ex-wife’d known it since he was an infant. His fighting that sedation long enough to basically say, <em>I know, and don’t worry about me, Dad</em> was all the reassurance he needed.</p>
<p>        Still, the Silver Fox couldn’t bring himself to give in to his exhaustion and fall asleep, despite his son being in good hands now. He didn’t want the last Time he got to see his son alive to be when alarms woke him up by starting to screech in his ear. Nothing’d haunt him more than that being his last memories of his son while he was still alive, so he put his own stubborn streak to good use. Despite that exhaustion, he forced himself to stay awake so he could keep vigil and know he was getting better.</p>
<p>        “Oh, Bobby.”</p>
<p>        Glancing over at the door of his son’s room, Rob blinked blearily a few Times before his ex-wife’s face came into focus, even with his glasses.</p>
<p>        “How’re y’all doing?” she queried, taking a couple tentative steps into the room.</p>
<p>        “Ah, ya know me–too stubborn to sleep when someone I love’s in trouble, even when I’m drop-dead exhausted,” the Silver Fox chuckled. “Zak’s stable now, but still critical.”</p>
<p>        “Ya need to get some sleep, or you’ll never be of any useta him,” Mishy gently admonished him, resting a hand on his shoulder.</p>
<p>        “Ya know damn good and well that ain’t gonna happen, woman,” he laughed, his volume soft more so for other patients. “A lot’s Changed in twenty Years, but not that part of my personality.”</p>
<p>        “I guess that’s true enough,” his ex-wife agreed, finally settling in the other chair, which she pulled next to his own. “I just–well, I’ll admit that I’m <em>still</em> surprised thatcha bothered to call me.”</p>
<p>        “Are ya fuckin’ shitting me?” Rob’s expression shifted to incredulous as he turned to look at her. “Mishy, whether I hatecha for cheating on me with my then-best friend or not, how could I <em>not</em> call ya for something like this?”</p>
<p>        She was a bit surprised to hear him use the word <em>Hate</em> in referenceta her, but then again, he’d a point with what he said immediately after that.</p>
<p>        “Zak’s as much my blood as yours,” the Silver Fox continued. “It wouldn’t be right of me not to give ya a chanceta either hug him again, or say your final goodbyes, should the worst happen. Whether I love or hatecha and how much Time’s passed since we split up doesn’t matter in the middle of something like that.”</p>
<p>        “Fair enough,” Mishy agreed, nodding. “Although, if it means anything to ya, I’ve regretted that ever since the first Time I was stupid enough to let that asshat seduce me.”</p>
<p>        “Doesn’t really mean shit to me,” he told her, but she could tell he was lying. “That ship sailed literally decades ago, and has long since sank out at Sea, so to speak.”</p>
<p>        His ex-wife didn’t get a chanceta try arguing the point before a nurse walked in to do her rounds, which made him clamp his lips shut in a tight, thin line. There was no denying that he was stressed to the fuckin’ max right now, but there were some things that certain parties didn’t need to be privy to. Luckily, she was in full agreement that the medical staff didn’t need to know about their past issues, as evidenced by how she didn’t bother saying a word beyond introducing herself as Zak’s mother.</p>
<p>        Even after the nurse’d given their son a thorough exam and recorded her findings in his chart, neither of the former spouses breathed a word of their Past. As far as Rob was concerned, he’d absolutely nothing left to say to his ex-wife about that shared period of their Lives. He felt that he’d said all he needed to when he’d filed for and gone through with their divorce and the ensuing custody battle.</p>
<p>        On the other hand, Mishy felt that there was a lot left to be said, ’cuz she’d never been given a chanceta do so all those Years ago. But now was neither the Time, nor placeta be getting into those fine details–they were here for their son, not anything that was or wasn’t between them. They needed to focus on Zak and what they were gonna do from here, whether it was preparing to take him back home once he was discharged or starting to make funeral arrangements. At least they both agreed that they shouldn’t jump to conclusions and start working on the latter just yet, but neither were delusional enough to deny that they might have to.</p>
<p>        It wasn’t more than an hour after she’d arrived that the now-blonde woman was making her ex-husband more comfortable. His exhaustion’d finally taken hold, leaving him slumped over one side of their son’s hospital bed with his head damn near in the younger man’s lap as he all but passed out. She knew about his past spinal problems, and that allowing him to stay in such a position wouldn’t be good for him later. For that reason, she heaved a sigh as she managed to pull him upright, then lean the recliner he was sitting in back so he could sleep more comfortably.</p>
<p>        But as she kept vigil over their critically-ailing son, she couldn’t have Begun to guess what was just around the corner for them.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Miracle of miracles, after just a week spent in the ICU under heavy sedation, Zak was awake and mostly coherent. He was obviously still exhausted as his body continued fighting against the virus that’d damn near stolen his Life, but he was certainly starting to improve. In fact, the doctor that’d been in charge of his care all this Time was optimistic about getting to discharge him soon, although his entire family’d be in quarantine for the first two weeks after that discharge.</p>
<p>        Rob couldn’t help a heavy sigh of relief upon getting that news, even though he knew his son still wasn’t quite outta the Woods yet. Even though that was gonna mean being trapped in close quarters with his ex-wife for at least two more weeks, he was just happy to know that he wouldn’t have to bury one of his children. He could deal with having to co-habitate with just about anyone for a couple weeks–even if he truly hated their guts–if it meant his children survived. Course, he supposed he should consider himself lucky to’ve avoided coming down with the same virus since he was in what professionals were calling the <em>high-risk category</em>.</p>
<p>        After almost two weeks spent trapped at Orlando Regional Medical Center, the young man was finally discharged to go home. Now was when the hard part started, ’cuz none of his family was gonna be allowed to so much as run to the store for groceries. They were gonna have to rely on one of his dad’s neighborsta do that for them–as well as get just about anything else they needed–for the next two weeks. After all, even his younger sister Zoe could unknowingly spread the virus, if they weren’t careful, considering how quickly and easily it seemed to spread already.</p>
<p>        Considering that he was still so easily-winded, the Silver Fox decided on giving up his own bedroom for his son once they were back at his house. He refused to let him Return to his apartment, just so he’d have help in case he needed anything as he continued to recover. But that didn’t mean he’d to make him fight the stairsta get up to his childhood bedroom on the second story of his home.</p>
<p>        “Ya didn’t have to give up your room, Dad,” Zak chuckled breathlessly, groaning as he plopped down on the edge of his dad’s bed to catch his breath.</p>
<p>        “Don’t gimme that shit, son,” he warned him, even as a smile curved his lips slightly. “We’re stuck with each other for a couple weeks, but that doesn’t mean I’ve to be an ass.”</p>
<p>        “He’s a point, baby boy,” Mishy agreed, setting his bag down at the foot of the bed. “At least down here, you’ve your choice between two different bathrooms, and it’ll be easier for ya to get to the kitchen on your own.”</p>
<p>        “Considering the kitchen’s practically right outside my bedroom door,” the Silver Fox chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he agreed once he’d caught his breath. “I’m guessing you’re gonna take my old room, Dad?”</p>
<p>        “Well, I ain’t throwing Zoe outta hers!” Rob laughed. “She likes having her own bathroom too much, so she’d prolly kill me, if I did that.”</p>
<p>        The younger man cocked a brow, knowing that there was only one other bedroom upstairs that was actually outfitted as such.</p>
<p>        “Chill out, son–I’m just gonna sleep on the futon in my office for the next couple weeks,” he told him. “I’ma pay for it royally by then, but it’s a small priceta pay to be able to bring my son home alive instead of planning his funeral.”</p>
<p>        “Fair enough,” Zak acquiesced. “I just don’t like the Thought of ya going through that kinda pain for my sake.”</p>
<p>        “Don’tcha worry about me,” the Silver Fox said. “Worry about yourself and getting better so ya can go back home to your apartment in a couple weeks since I know how much ya like your Independence.”</p>
<p>        Unable to help a laugh, breathless though it was since he was still recovering, he admitted that he certainly had a point. Ever since he’d moved out–first into a dorm when he was in college, then into his apartment upon graduating–he’d never liked having to Return home for more than a Christmas celebration or the like. He was too much like him for his own good in that respect, but it’d served him well since he was doing well in his Dream job as a graphic designer now.</p>
<p>        After getting their son settled in, Rob all but dragged his ex-wife back to the kitchen so he could get some rest. He knew she’d a penchant for turning on the <em>mother Hen</em> that all women seemed to be born with, and he knew where letting her do that’d lead. While he might put up with it for a while, their son’d eventually start getting annoyed, and that’d make the next two weeks even harder.</p>
<p>        Even as he led her to the stairs that led from the massive great room up to a lil loft area, Mishy couldn’t help wondering what their son’d been talking about. She was more than aware that he’d to have surgery on his neck nearly twenty Years ago–that’d happened immediately before their divorce, after all. But due to said divorce, she obviously hadn’t been around to find out what the aftermath of that surgery was for him. From the sounds of things, even if it wasn’t as bad as <em>before</em> he’d that surgery, her ex-husband still lived in quite a bit of pain. If that was true, no doubt sleeping in uncomfortable positions on less-than-stellar furniture only exacerbated whatever pain he suffered from now.</p>
<p>        Shrugging as he led her up to the guest room that was pretty much sammiched between his office and Zoe’s room, the Silver Fox told her not to worry about it. He admitted that he didn’t exactly get along with futons any more than he got along with couches due to his neck, but he was more than glad to give up his bed for a couple weeks. That was definitely better than having to put their son in the ground–or rather, in an above-ground crypt–and as a parent, it wouldn’t be right of him to <em>not</em> make such a sacrifice when need be.</p>
<p>        “I’m not saying ya don’t have a point, Bobby,” she sighed. “Just that we’re worried about <em>you</em> as much as you’re worried about us.”</p>
<p>        “Trust me, there’re some Nights that even sleeping on a memory-foam-topped Sleep Number doesn’t do much to help my neck,” Rob told her. “And quit calling me <em>Bobby</em>–ya know I hate it unless the reason I’m getting called that involves the band.”</p>
<p>        “Sorry.” His ex-wife winced apologetically. “It’s been so long that I forgot about that.”</p>
<p>        “Hence why I’m trying not to snap, given all the other stress we’re under,” he said. “But it’s still every bit as much a pet-peeve as it was twenty Years ago, so ya could stand a memory refresher.”</p>
<p>        “Fair enough,” Mishy agreed, shooting him a smile. “’Cuz I’d be lying, if I said that having to share Space with my ex after so long <em>wasn’t</em> stressful.”</p>
<p>        “Glad to know we agree on that and being thankful that Zak pulled through, if nothing else,” the Silver Fox chuckled, frowning as he pulled his phone outta his pocket when it started ringing. “You’ll have to excuse me–no doubt my friend’s wanting to check in on Zak.”</p>
<p>        “Go take your call, then,” she told him, nodding her Understanding.</p>
<p>        “Just lemme know, if ya need anything,” Rob said. “Hell, even let Zoe know, for that matter.”</p>
<p>        “I’ll be sure to,” his ex-wife assured him, which earned her a nod as he turned to head downstairs.</p>
<p><em>        “Hei siellä, tyttö!”</em> he said, taking Mishy by surprise as his voice faded down the hall toward the stairs.</p>
<p>        Seconds later, their daughter appeared in the guest room doorway so she could greet her, promptly bursting into laughter as she hugged her. No doubt the look on her face screamed Curiosity and confusion, but then again, it wasn’t exactly unexpected on Zoe’s part. With the amount of Time that’d passed since their divorce, there were things her parents didn’t know about each other, if they’d ever been aware of them at all.</p>
<p>        The older woman was a bit surprised to find out that her ex-husband spoke far more than just English a handful of Spanish these Days. Back when they’d been married–and even right after their divorce–he’d only spoken those two languages outta necessity. After all, the vast majority of the Planet spoke English, and he’d not only grown up in a combination of Florida and Pennsylvania, but lived in Southern California for several Years. He’d to learn quite a bit of Spanish to get by in either of those Southernmost places he’d lived to get by, or he’d have needed a translator on special retainer to avoid figuratively sticking his foot in his mouth.</p>
<p>        Even still, Mishy almost couldn’t believe her ears when their daughter told her that he was now more or less fluent in even Finnish and Italian. The younger woman wouldn’t tell her why–she said that was her dad’s business, not hers–but it was a skill he’d picked up after their divorce. He used those languages with only one person when he was Stateside, but they came in handy elsewhere, too.</p>
<p>        Getting the feeling that it wouldn’t behoove her to ask, she simply nodded and agreed that letting Rob explain on his own’d prolly be her best bet right now. After all, she was lucky that he hadn’t simply put her up in a hotel room for her two-week quarantine, which he damn well coulda done. She didn’t feel like pushing his buttons over something so trivial and silly, ’cuz things weren’t gonna be easy, as it was. There was no need to add to any of their stress by trying to be pushy, especially with something she really didn’t have a right to know, anywhore.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Over the next couple weeks, the former spouses managed to get along well enough to avoid either of them committing homicide. Their son slowly recovered to the point that once their two-week quarantine was up, he was fully capable of Returning to his own home by himself. He promised to give either of his parents a call, if he Ended up needing anything, but he also had a neighbor that was willing to help him out, too.</p>
<p>        But that was pretty much where the good Times Ended, and not ’cuz of anything done by any of the quartet who’d been more or less trapped together. Just like before their divorce, Rob’s obsession with being kept up-to-date by watching the news all but drove his ex-wife insane. It seemed like just about every Time she came outta the guest room, his TV was on the local news, sometimes national.</p>
<p>        However, that obsession proved to be a good thing in a way, given how infrequently Mishy bothered watching the news, herself. Less than a week after Zak’s discharge from ORMC, it seemed that the whole damn Planet ground to a screeching halt. One country after another went into a mandatory shutdown, and unnecessary Travel was strictly prohibited. Vacations and business trips were postponed or completely canceled left, right, and Center, but so was a lotta interstate Travel. If one wasn’t already at their home, they were pretty much stuck wherever they were unless they were just in the next Town over or something.</p>
<p>        That meant that the older woman couldn’t get a flight back to her home outside Dallas, Texas for the Life of her. Not even her second husband–who was a prominent businessman in that area–could pull any stringsta get her back home, now that her quarantine was over. Unless he drove just over a thousand milesta come get her, she was stuck in the Orlando area for the foreseeable Future. And it didn’t seem likely that her current husband was gonna make such a drive, considering that he’d his teenage boys from a previous marriage to deal with on top of everything else.</p>
<p>        “This is just fuckin’ great,” she groaned, dropping her head down onto the breakfast bar counter of her ex-husband’s kitchen.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, I know it sucks,” said ex-husband chuckled as he poured their coffee. “But let’s count our Blessings and be grateful that we’re all still alive.”</p>
<p>        “I never said I <em>wasn’t</em> counting my Blessings,” Mishy told him, nodding gratefully as he pushed her mug toward her. “I just didn’t see this kinda thing coming when I came out here to answer your voice mail in person.”</p>
<p>        “Andja think <em>I</em> did?” he queried, cocking a brow as he raised his own mug for a sip. “God knows I didn’t think Zak was gonna catch what <em>seemed</em> like a chest cold, then wind up in the hospital fighting for his Life, let alone any of the rest of this shit.”</p>
<p>        “Fair enough,” his ex-wife sighed as she fidgeted with her mug between sips.</p>
<p>        “What’s up?” Rob asked, finally moving to settle on the bar stool next to her. “Ya seem like you’ve something on your mind.”</p>
<p>        “Ah, just worried about Dave and the boys,” she chuckled. “I know he was a single dad before we met, but I’m pretty much the only mom they’ve ever known.”</p>
<p>        “And it just wouldn’t be any more Natural to <em>not</em> worry about them as much as ya do Zak and Zoe, even though you’re not actually their mother,” the Silver Fox mused.</p>
<p>        “I don’t expectcha to fully get that kinda mentality, though,” Mishy told him. “Far as I know, you’ve never come closeta remarrying, let alone actually doing so and being a stepdad.”</p>
<p>        “I’d be lying, if I said I had,” Rob laughed. “Don’t get me wrong–I’ve had my fair share of serious relationships since our divorce, but none <em>that</em> serious.”</p>
<p>        “I think I’d prolly be more shocked by one of the kids calling to tell me you’d finally Changed your mind more than if they called to invite me to their own weddings,” his ex-wife admitted.</p>
<p>        “I highly doubt that’s gonna happen,” he said. “I’d like to think that if I was gonna get married again, I’d have done it a long Time ago.”</p>
<p>        “The Future’s never set in Stone, so who knows? Maybe ya just haven’t found that special someone yet,” Mishy told him.</p>
<p><em>        Or maybe it’s that I’m too stuck in the Past for my own good,</em> the Silver Fox thought.</p>
<p>        Not even a gun against his head and the threat of it being him or one of his kids could get him to admit all of what was on his mind. There’d always been a part of him that resented his ex-wife for her actions in the few Years leading up to their divorce, and definitely afterward. But there’d been another part of him that’d always regretted not trying to work things out instead of more or less taking the easy way out.</p>
<p>        Ever since their divorce’d been finalized and he’d been awarded full custody of their kids, Rob’d found himself lonely beyond words. He knew that said kids were well aware of his ongoing loneliness, and how it seemed that no one could fill the hole left in his heart. But he was as stubborn as he’d ever been, and had held out Hope that he’d eventually find someone who <em>could</em> fill that hole.</p>
<p>        However, in being trapped in close quarters with Mishy for the last two weeks–and for God-only-knew how much longer now–he’d come to a somewhat startling realization. Even though he’d long since thought himself over her and the thirteen Years they’d shared together, he’d come to realize that that couldn’t be further from the Truth. If he were completely honest with at least himself, he’d never gotten over the only woman he’d ever had the pleasure and Honor of calling his wife. No, he’d simply buried his pain and dove head-first into his work more than he’d done upon moving out to California in 1983 to get Poison off the ground.</p>
<p>        But clearly, burying his pain instead of addressing it in a healthy manner was coming back to haunt the Silver Fox now. It was painfully obvious that no matter how much Time passed, he was never gonna get over the woman sitting next to him and be able to truly move on. The problem with that was that–by all outward appearances–<em>she’d</em> gotten over <em>him</em> and moved on with her own Life. He’d never get a second chance with her, considering that she was long since remarried with even more of a family than he’d ever been able to give her when they were together.</p>
<p>        What Rob didn’t realize, though, was that she was simply deluding herself into thinking she’d gotten over him. As much as he refused to admit that there were things unresolved between them, his ex-wife was just as stubborn about admitting such a thing. That was only gonna lead to some kinda tension while they were trapped together, and how it’d turn out was anyone’s guess.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Over the next few weeks, the former spouses were able to get along more or less like roommates, rather than constantly fighting with each other. Maybe that was a conscious decision on both their parts so their grown daughter wouldn’t be exposed to the fighting they’d managed <em>not</em> to do in front of her when she was a toddler. Then again, maybe it was an unconscious, unspoken agreement that they needed to get along now more than ever before their Time together Ended in a complete blood bath.</p>
<p>        But if there was one thing Rob was more than willing to admit–if only to one of his closest friends and in a foreign language–it was that having to co-habitate with his ex-wife was driving him nuts. It wasn’t ’cuz she was actually <em>trying</em> to drive him crazy, but rather ’cuz of his own mind tormenting him, mostly when he was asleep.</p>
<p>        More than once after Zak’d Returned to his apartment a few miles away, he’d found himself waking up painfully aroused with no real outlet. Sometimes, he’d remember whatever Dream left him in that state–most of them involving Mishy to some extent–but others, it’d be a blank that he’d have to fill in for himself. He wanted nothing more than to pin the blonde he’d once been married to against the wall and give her a reminder of what she’d given up more than twenty Years ago. Then he’d remember how badly she’d hurt him with a stupid decision, and he’d let out a torrent of foreign Curses as he shuffled off to his bathroom for some kinda shower.</p>
<p>        What he didn’t realize was that his ex-wife felt the same way he did, and for nearly identical reasons as any he could list for himself. Even before he’d caught her in bed with his former best friend and filed for divorce, she’d regretted her decision. She’d loved him ever since they met in 1987 when she was sixteen Years old, even though he’d been twenty-three at the Time. Now that he was within physical reach, but yet still so far away from her grasp, it was killing her inside. But what killed her even more was knowing that she’d be cheating on a husband again, if she went after her ex in the slightest.</p>
<p>        Heaving a sigh as she watched Rob deal with what lil bit of landscaping he had that needed maintenance, the older woman twisted her wedding set around on her finger. Part of her wanted to give in to the Temptation offered by watching his shirtless form from the window of his foyer that overlooked the front yard. After all, there was only so long even a woman could go without anything sexual before the desperation grew to an unbearable point. But at the same Time, there was another part of her that remembered something she’d Intended to do upon going back home. It was far more significant than anything she’d wanted to do in Years, and she knew that it’d be thrown off by giving in to her current Temptation–not to mention set off a chain of events she didn’t even wanna think about.</p>
<p>        “Mishy, right?”</p>
<p>        Startled by hearing a feminine voice that didn’t belong to her daughter behind her, Mishy whirled around to face the dining room. “Who the hell’re you, and how’dja get in here?”</p>
<p>        “One of Rob’s closest friends,” the woman she was faced with chuckled. “Came over to check on y’all, and he told me to just c’mon in when we crossed paths out back since he’s busy with the yard.”</p>
<p>        She couldn’t help but be wary, even though she relaxed marginally as she nodded. “Then there’s no hiding that I’m his ex-wife.”</p>
<p>        “Not that he’s ever tried to hide that part of his Past.” Her face split in a somewhat mischievous grin. “Name’s Raven–or at least, that’s the easiest for most to call me.”</p>
<p>        “Really–why’s that?” the older woman queried, her Curiosity getting the better of her.</p>
<p>        “’Cuz my mother was eccentric and named me partially after a Celtic Goddess,” Raven laughed. “Most can’t pronounce my name, or it takes ’em forever, so I just picked a nickname that ties back to that Goddess.”</p>
<p>        “Fair enough, I guess,” she mused as they headed into the kitchen. “If it’s easier and less annoying, I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same.”</p>
<p>        “So, what’s on your mind?” the slightly younger woman queried. “And don’t tell me nothing, ’cuz I ain’t stupid–I can feel the Energy rolling on ya in Waves.”</p>
<p>        Mishy wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to confide in someone who was close friends with her ex-husband since it involved him.</p>
<p>        “Look, I ain’t gonna be pushy, if ya don’t wanna talk,” she told her. “But I get the feeling that whatever’s bothering ya involves Rob, and bottling shit up ain’t good for anybody.”</p>
<p>        “Well, ya got me on it involving Rob, that’s for sure,” the older woman sighed. “Not sure I wanna talk about it, though, especially with someone who’s admitted to being close with him.”</p>
<p>        “Then speaking as a woman who knows him prolly better than any woman should–don’t do anything stupid, but don’t hide your feelings, either,” Raven said.</p>
<p>        Taken by surprise, she wasn’t exactly sure what to make of the other woman’s words, nor could she figure out exactly what she was eluding to. Apparently able to read her better than she’d thought, said woman made no bones about what she meant. Not only was she a close friend of her ex-husband’s, but she was one of his <em>best</em> friends, which was why she knew him so well.</p>
<p>        But in addition to being such good friends with Rob and understanding him on levels not even his own mother had prior to her Death, the slightly younger woman surprised her with another admission. Roughly fifteen Years ago, she and the Silver Fox’d dated for a couple Years before she’d finally grown sick of his games. In being able to read him so well, she’d known there was no way he’d gotten over his ex-wife like he’d claimed, and she wasn’t gonna be his rebound, or allow herself to be used as a pawn in some twisted game.</p>
<p>        “I told him that as long as he kept deluding himself, nothing was gonna work out between us,” she said. “I mighta been leaving him in a Romantic sense, but I was still gonna be there for him as a friend–and I’ve kept my word in all the Years since.”</p>
<p>        “How couldja tell, though?” Mishy queried. “I mean, he’s been such a private and Secretive guy ever since I met him when I was sixteen that I can’t even read him that well.”</p>
<p>        “Abilities I was born with and can’t seem to find the <em>Off</em> switch for,” the slightly younger woman laughed. “He can’t hide shit from me any more than you can–it’s just a matter of whether I call him on his bullshit or not.”</p>
<p>        “Hence why ya could tell that something involving him was bothering me, even without asking,” she mused.</p>
<p>        “Exactly.” Raven nodded. “I don’t care if ya tell me or not, my own relationship with him be Blessed–anything said between us <em>stays</em> between us. But I tolerate no liars and those with Hidden agendas amongst my friends and family, all the same.”</p>
<p>        “Well, I didn’t come out here with any Hidden agenda,” the older woman said. “I came out here for our son like a good mother should when I found out he was in the ICU.”</p>
<p>        “And now, you’re stuck here ’cuz of these Gods-damned shutdowns.” It was a statement, not a question.</p>
<p>        “Bingo, and it’s not easy, either,” Mishy sighed. “I mean, I can’t help being attracted to Rob–for the Love of God, I was married to him for over a decade!”</p>
<p>        “Yet something stops ya from giving things with him another shot,” the slightly younger woman mused.</p>
<p>        “Well, I’m married to a different guy now,” she told her.</p>
<p>        Raven merely nodded, not seeming the slightest bit surprised by that admission as she nodded her Understanding. It seemed that she didn’t need to explain further, that she got what she was eluding to without her having to do so. She was obviously happy enough to’ve remarried, but being in such close quarters with her ex was taking her back to a different Time in her Life that she missed.</p>
<p>        Mincing no words with her, she repeated what she’d told her to start with about not doing anything stupid, but not hiding her feelings, either. She told her that–even though he’d deny it till he was blue in the face–Rob made that mistake every Day that he woke up, and it made him utterly miserable. No one was ever gonna be able to help him till he decided to come clean with at least himself, and she didn’t wanna see her put herself in that kinda misery. It was bad enough that her best friend did that to himself over this woman–said older woman didn’t need to be doing it to herself over him, too.</p>
<p>        Unsure of what to make of that, Mishy’s expression turned thoughtful as she pondered her words carefully. Maybe staying with her current husband wasn’t what she was Destined to do, despite the plans they’d been trying to fulfill in recent Times. That didn’t mean that things’d ever work out between herself and her ex-husband, ’cuz no matter what his friend said, he may not actually feel the same way she felt right now.</p>
<p>        However, their conversation was brought to an End when they heard the exterior door that led to the mud room off the kitchen open. Neither was willing to say anything that could potentially lead to Disaster in front of the Silver Fox, who stepped into the kitchen moments later. Besides, Raven knew that this decades-old issue was between the pair of former spouses, and no one else. She’d play mediator so they wouldn’t kill each other, if the need were to arise, but she Intended to stay outta it beyond that. It was entirely up to the older woman sitting on the couch next to her what happened next, ’cuz they both knew the man in question wasn’t gonna make the first move.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>June, 2020</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After three months of <em>sheltering in place,</em> as all the officials called it–which he considered more akin to being on house arrest without the ankle monitor–Rob was closeta losing his mind. Waking up painfully aroused Morn after Morn–and later covered in his own bodily fluids when he started suffering from a phenomenon he hadn’t experienced since his adolescence–had long since taken its toll. Having reached a point where servicing himself and even trying a romp or three with Raven, to no avail, he was beyond fed up with being a prisoner in his own home.</p>
<p>        To that End, he oft found himself pulling longer and longer hours at the restaurant he’d miraculously managed to avoid selling during his divorce all those Years ago. It was harder than normal to keep the place afloat, considering that he was pretty much relegated to delivery and curbside pickup. What mattered was that he was able to keep the place open, and therefore money coming in when he needed it and something to do with himself most.</p>
<p>        But the Silver Fox wasn’t the only one having problems, both personal <em>and</em> professional, from what he overheard more than he didn’t. Mishy was not only struggling to keep a restaurant of her own open, despite being trapped in Florida while her business was in Texas, but having marital issues, too. From the sounds of things, she was just as sexually frustrated as he was, and not being able to do anything about it was getting to her. What didn’t sit well with him, though, was that it sounded like her second husband wasn’t of a mind to so much as <em>try</em> to help her out, even with phone sex. It seemed that the man refused to do such a thing, and it was just adding to her mounting frustration with everything.</p>
<p>        However, as much as he wanted to, Rob knew that such issues were none of his business and he’d no right to stick his nose into it. For that reason, he choseta just keep quiet and pretend he didn’t hear anything when his ex-wife’d get into a fight with her husband. It was better to simply feign being as dense as men generally were than to add fuel to the Fire, so to speak.</p>
<p>        For that reason, it wasn’t the least bit surprising to him to hear Mishy get into yet another telephone fight with her man, even from downstairs in the kitchen. He simply shrugged it off, even as Zoe winced and shot him a curious look, still not wanting to stick his nose where it didn’t belong. But what he didn’t realize as he heard the guest room door open and slam seconds later was that he was about to get dragged into it, like it or not. Well, he wasn’t getting dragged into it, <em>per sé</em>–more like his laptop was about to get dragged into it, and he just didn’t realize it. Regardless of who or what was about to get dragged into anything, though, he couldn’t resist holding up his hands in surrender and slowly backing away as his ex stormed into the kitchen, Rage in her eyes and her phone in one hand.</p>
<p>        “Rob, where’s your laptop?” she queried, her tone a lil too even for his liking.</p>
<p>        “What on Earth do ya need <em>my</em> laptop for?” the Silver Fox countered, caught completely off-guard–and not realizing her husband could hear every word they were saying.</p>
<p>        “’Cuz I’m about to cut a cord I shoulda cut Years ago,” Mishy growled, her gaze moving to her phone at a sudden squawk that caught even his attention.</p>
<p><em>        “There’s no way you’re serious, Dana!”</em> an unfamiliar voice said incredulously.</p>
<p>        “Fuckin’ watch me, asshole,” his ex-wife snarled. “’Cuz I’m sick of all but bending over backward for ya, only for you to never be satisfied with anything I do.”</p>
<p>        “Whoa, whoa, whoa–take a few deep breaths, woman,” Rob interjected, gently taking her phone before she could do anything stupid like throw it against the wall.</p>
<p><em>        “I don’t care whether that’s your ex-husband or not</em>–<em>ya oughta listen to him,”</em> the same voice said through the speaker of her phone.</p>
<p>        “No more than I care if <em>you’re</em> the current husband or not,” he agreed, using his height and much longer armsta his advantage as he held the device over her head when she snatched at it. “Speaking from experience, don’t do something you’re gonna regret when it’s all said and done in the heat of the moment, Mish.”</p>
<p>        “Like ya ever regretted filing for divorce, considering how our marriage Ended,” Mishy retorted.</p>
<p>        “Actually, I regret it to the very pits of my Soul every Day that I wake up,” the Silver Fox corrected her. “There mighta been a chance for us to work shit out, but I never gave us the opportunity to find out by acting in the heat of the moment.”</p>
<p>        Her jaw dropped in shock, a <em>thump</em> sounding from the other End of the line as her current husband apparently dropped his own phone before quickly picking it back up.</p>
<p>        “For the Love of God, <em>don’t</em> repeat <em>my</em> mistake,” Rob begged her. “’Cuz strong and stubborn as ya are, you’re not as strong and stubborn as me–and I <em>barely</em> manage to trudge on anymore.”</p>
<p>        Having spoken his piece, he simply handed her phone back to her before turning to head out to the private gym he’d set up in his garage. Maybe finally coming clean about that to her–and with her current husband listening in–wasn’t exactly smart on his part, but he couldn’t help himself. If there was one thing he didn’t wanna see, it was anyone else on the Planet make the same mistakes he’d made when he was younger.</p>
<p>        What the Silver Fox didn’t realize was that his ex-wife doing such a thing was a long Time in coming, quarantine or no. For as long as they’d been married–which was just over ten Years now–there’d been one major problem between the two of them. They’d both wanted at least one child together, but such an event’d never occurred, no matter what they’d tried.</p>
<p>        After having spent the last five or six Years on Fertility drugsta stave off the inevitable as they continued trying, Mishy’d finally reached the End of her rope. It was pretty obviousta her that they were only toxic as a couple, and they certainly weren’t gonna get their hearts’ greatest Wish granted. But being separated during this quarantine’d finally opened her eyesta just how toxic they were together in a Romantic sense. Not only that, but it’d finally opened her eyesta just how much she still loved her ex-husband, which she knew wasn’t ever gonna Change. She might never get another chance with said ex-husband, but he’d a point about not doing something she’d regret, like staying in a loveless marriage.</p>
<p>        However, even her daughter was of a mind that she shouldn’t do anything in the heat of the moment, no matter how long in coming it was. Zoe wore as stern an expression as her father ever had as she took her phone this Time, quickly bidding both their goodbyesta her stepfather. Then that look was turned on her mother as she laid her phone aside, but just far enough outta her reach that she’d have to lunge for it. Only then did she tell her that–like any other kid–she’d love nothing more than to see her parents get back together, but not if it meant Destroying someone else.</p>
<p>        Rolling her eyes as she snatched up her phone again, the older woman turned to head back upstairsta the guest room. Nothing was gonna stop her from being a Lady of her word, ’cuz she was done with lying and playing games. That divorce was gonna go through, even if she’d to appear before a judge via Skype, ’cuz she wasn’t gonna be stupid and End it all forever. But she also had to consider what was gonna happen <em>after</em> said divorce, given that she still had her business in the Dallas area. Not only that, but who knew if she’d get so much as visitation with her stepsons–after all, she might not be their Natural mother, but she’d legally adopted them. There was plenty to keep in mind, but she wasn’t backing down on this any more than Rob’d backed down on <em>their</em> divorce so long ago.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Another two weeks passed, and said Silver Fox was still finding himself working long hours in his restaurant across Town. He’d work himself to the point of utter exhaustion from before Dawn till right around dinnertime every Day before he’d finally go back home. But even once he was back home, he kept finding waysta work himself to the bone before he’d barely manage to drag himself into the shower before falling out for the Night.</p>
<p>        One Night not quite a month after all but getting dragged into his ex-wife’s argument with her current husband, he’d gone through that same routine once again before simply flopping across his bed. He was exhausted to the very marrow of his bones and just didn’t feel like actually crawling into bed like a fairly normal human being. To be quite honest, he felt as weak as a kitten, but not ’cuz he was coming down with anything–<em>Godzilla Flu</em> or otherwise. It just took too much Energy to get into bed like he normally did, and he was comfortable right where he was, stretched out sideways.</p>
<p>        Feeling his bed move next to him in the middle of the Night startled him outta that deep sleep he’d slipped into rather quickly, though. It’d been Years since either of his kids’d crawled into bed with him, and he was pretty sure that neither of them’d be doing that now. Come to think of it, nobody shoulda been able to get into his bedroom since he usually slept with his door locked.</p>
<p>        “Da fuq?” Rob groaned, lifting his head as he felt that second body lift his arm and snuggle against his side.</p>
<p><em>        “Shhhh,</em> Rob–go back to sleep,” a familiar, but sleepy voice responded.</p>
<p>        “Mishy–how on Earth didja get into my room?” he slurred, rolling onto his side so he faced her.</p>
<p>        “Door was unlocked,” Mishy yawned.</p>
<p>        “Shouldn’t have been,” the Silver Fox grumbled. “Doesn’t explain why you’re crawling into bed with me, though.”</p>
<p>        “’Cuz ya apparently think the house’s the cooler in both our restaurants,” she chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Then ya shoulda said something about turning the AC up a lil bit,” Rob sighed. “Not be crawling into bed with me since we’re divorced and you’re married to someone else.”</p>
<p>        “Try legally separated, but we can talk about that when we’re <em>not</em> so tired, we’re slurring,” his ex-wife corrected him.</p>
<p>        Seeing no way to argue with her and simply not having the Energy to try, he simply pushed himself up to actually get into bed like a normal person. He could pull his blankets over himself and wrap up like a burrito, if he got cold when he was sleeping alone, but that wasn’t as easy with someone else in his bed next to him.</p>
<p>        As he settled down again and let Mishy settle down next to him, the Silver Fox could only hope that he wasn’t making even a slight mistake. It wasn’t like they were a couple anymore–or had been in almost as long as their daughter was old–nor like she was technically free to be sleeping with anyone, especially him. What context it was in also didn’t exactly matter since he wasn’t exactly comfortable with this particular happening, just too tired to argue. Beyond that, his Thoughts were pretty much nothing but white noise as he went limp, sleep quickly overcoming him again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Waking with a displeased groan the next Morn, Rob was a bit startled to feel another body in his bed beside him. His eyes flew wide open for a couple different reasons as he registered how soft it was, which could only mean one thing. No doubt it was a woman in bed with him, and since Raven didn’t sneak in for booty calls and the like, it was either his daughter or his ex-wife. God only knew he hoped it wasn’t the former, considering the condition he’d woken up in once again–having that happen with the latter in his bed would be humiliating enough.</p>
<p>        A soft hum greeted him as the body next to him squirmed slightly, and rubbing his eyes allowed them to focus just enough to make out blonde hair. While part of him was relieved since that meant it’d to be Mishy, another part of him was mortified enough to want the floor to just open up and swallow him whole as she rolled over to face him.</p>
<p>        “Well, good Morn to you, too,” she chuckled sleepily. “That a hammer in your britches, or are ya just that much of a Morn person, now that you’ve gotten old?”</p>
<p>        “Oh, my God,” the Silver Fox groaned, turning his face into his pillow. “Somebody just fuckin’ shoot me.”</p>
<p>        “Now, where’s the fun in that?” Mishy laughed, pushing herself up just enough to look down at him.</p>
<p>        “Who said anything about <em>fun?”</em> he countered, peeping up at her almost bashfully. “’Cuz if this is fun, our definitions of the word’re about fifteen different books apart.”</p>
<p>        “Like ya always used to say about me, you’re cute when you’re blushing,” his ex-wife giggled.</p>
<p>        “That’s it–I’ve died and gone to Hell,” Rob groaned. “That, or some kinda Purgatory as punishment for all the shit I did as a dumb young man.”</p>
<p>        “What makes ya say that?” she queried on a laugh.</p>
<p>        “You’re kidding me, right?” The Silver Fox didn’t bother trying to bite back a snort. “My ex-wife’s in my bed, even though she’s married to another guy, and teasing me about waking up hard as a rock. How the fuck can that <em>not</em> be Hell?”</p>
<p>        Mishy couldn’t help but erupt into gut-splitting laughter, which didn’t make him feel the slightest bit better about the situation. The fact that he was horny enough to have all the subtlety of a Dog humping a doorknob certainly didn’t help him right now. But if there was anything to be said right now, at least he’d gone to bed with clothes on, which woulda impeded him, if he’d tried to start anything <em>before</em> they’d woken up.</p>
<p>        Finally Calming down, his ex-wife grinned mischievously as she told him that she couldn’t help wanting to tease him a lil. If nothing else, it was for the sake of cutting down on the obvious tension between them, not to actually be malicious toward him. After all, he’d graciously opened his home to her when he coulda just sent her to a hotel due to the World’s current Insanity.</p>
<p>        Rob couldn’t Begin to argue with that particular point, but made it quite clear that he was just too good a man to do that to anyone, his ex-wife or otherwise. He didn’t necessarily appreciate being teased over a bodily function that the Manifestation of brought him no End of embarrassment, but he understood where she was coming from. There was no need for more tension when there’d been enough of that for months now–it was better to cut down on it when and where they could. Besides, it wasn’t her fault that he hadn’t been getting any action lately, so he couldn’t blame her in the slightest.</p>
<p>        “May not be my fault, but I’m sure me being around hasn’t been helping ya,” she veritably purred.</p>
<p>        “What an understatement,” the Silver Fox sighed, gasping when she pushed him onto his back. “Mishy, what the hell’re ya doing?”</p>
<p>        “I’d like to think it’d be obvious,” Mishy laughed as she moved to straddle him.</p>
<p>        “You’re married, for the Love of God!” he protested, moving to shove her back onto the bed, rather than over the edge of it.</p>
<p>        “No one ever said a thing about actually having sex, Rob,” his ex-wife chuckled, pinning his hands above his head. “I daresay we’re both horny enough that we’d get off just from grinding against each other right about now.”</p>
<p>        Rob’s mouth opened and closed as he floundered for a response, but he just couldn’t come up with one–for a couple different reasons.</p>
<p>        “Trust me, I normally wouldn’t go even that far,” she sighed. “But when your spouse won’t even have phone sex with ya and nothing else works…”</p>
<p>        “Ya don’t even have to go there,” the Silver Fox grumbled. “’Cuz welcome to my Life those last couple Years that <em>we</em> were married when I was on the road.”</p>
<p>        “Well, it wasn’t exactly easy to just drop everything for that kinda thing with a two young kids running around that coulda walked in on me, just ’cuz ya were in another Time zone,” Mishy pointed out.</p>
<p>        “Maybe, but I’m not stupid–I know fuckin’ around with Eric played quite the role, too,” he retorted.</p>
<p>        “I can’t even Begin to argue with that, so I’m not gonna bother,” his ex-wife told him. “But unless you’re really <em>that</em> unwilling, I’m not going another Day with this throbbing driving me nuts, either.”</p>
<p>        “Keep your panties on, and I can’t say that I disagree,” Rob chuckled, that chuckle turning into a groan as her weight shifting made him throb painfully. “’Cuz I swear, I’ma wind up in the ER like I overdosed on Viagra, if <em>something</em> ain’t done about this!”</p>
<p>        Grinning down at him, she braced her hands on his shoulders as she shifted her weight again, this Time on purpose. Keeping her panties on was no problem for her these Days, even though she wouldn’t deny that she’d love for them to get ripped off–and to ribbons. But she wasn’t gonna try to push for something he clearly wasn’t willing to give her, even if this wasn’t quite enough for her.</p>
<p>        Mishy barely bit back a moan as she rocked her hips, which allowed her to rub along the entirety of his length. After at least three months with no action of her own, she was incredibly sensitive, almost like she was a virgin all over again. She doubted she’d last very long before she was tumbling head-over-ass through Waves of pleasure the likes of which she hadn’t experienced in Years. But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if her movements brought this man more or less the same pleasure, which he seemed to be in desperate need of.</p>
<p>        Rob couldn’t help another groan as he bucked up, his hands moving to grip her hips as that served to press him against her that much tighter. While part of him was starting to regret telling her to keep her panties on, another part of him was all too grateful. At least he was getting <em>something,</em> even if it was akin to feeding a starving Dog scraps instead of a full meal. It was better than the nothing he’d been getting for the last few months, and he wasn’t about to deny that much.</p>
<p>        It wasn’t long before the woman straddling him stiffened with a gasp, and he knew what that meant all too well. Feeling the slight twitching of her folds against his shaft told him all he needed to know as she rode out the pleasure, but it also served to tease him. He’d been pretty closeta that same edge, but not quite close enough to join her in that orgasmic Bliss. That dragged a growl from the depths of his torso as he pulled her more snugly against him, determination glittering in his eyes as he pushed up against her once again. Luckily, it didn’t take much more to set him off, but she was so sensitive that she was set off again in her own right.</p>
<p>        “Jesus Christ,” he panted, his grip on her hips loosening as he finally went limp.</p>
<p>        “Ya can say that again,” Mishy laughed, barely able to hold herself up so they could both breathe.</p>
<p>        “Jesus Christ,” the Silver Fox repeated, grinning when she playfully slapped his chest. “Hey, ya told me to say it again!”</p>
<p>        “You’re such a dork, Rob,” she said. “A desperate dork, but hell, who can blame either of us right now?”</p>
<p>        “Shit, I can’t even remember the last Time I got laid,” Rob admitted. “Prolly sometime last Summer, if I dared try to think about it.”</p>
<p>        “Seriously?” His ex-wife seemed a bit surprised to hear that.</p>
<p>        “Eh, Raven and I screw around outta desperation sometimes, but it’s more of a <em>friends-with-benefits</em> kinda thing.” He shrugged, but it was obvious that he was embarrassed. “God knows <em>that</em> ship sailed a long Time ago, too.”</p>
<p>        “Part of me wantsta ask, but another part’s not sure that’s such a smart idea,” Mishy said, a sheepish note to her voice.</p>
<p>        “Not much to tell,” the Silver Fox said. “She and I tried dating, but she swore I still wasn’t over you–even five Years later–so she broke it off.”</p>
<p>        “Well, I wasn’t gonna say anything, but she told me as much that Day we met a couple months back,” she mused. “I just took it with a grain of Salt, though, instead of sticking my nose in where I shouldn’t.”</p>
<p>        “Like I said, we tried dating and it didn’t work,” Rob reiterated. “But we don’t turn to each other unless we’re seriously desperate, ’cuz she refusesta lead me on as much as she refusesta be <em>led</em> on.”</p>
<p>        “Can’t say that I blame her for that,” his ex-wife laughed. “That’s pretty fair playing grounds, but still gets ya some relief when ya need it.”</p>
<p>        He couldn’t help a laugh as he agreed with that statement, her weight shifting once again as she finally crawled outta his lap and let him sit up. Tossing his legs over the edge of his bed, he told her to just use his bathroom to get cleaned up while he ran upstairsta at least grab her jeans and a T-shirt for her. Considering that the only placeta put a laundry room in such an old house was upstairs, he could just say that he’d needed to run up for his own clothes and that she’d spilled something on herself while making coffee, if he needed an excuse.</p>
<p>        Mishy bit her lip as her ex-husband closed his bedroom door behind himself, but didn’t try to argue the point–not that he’d given her the chance. The sticky feeling she was left with wasn’t exactly comfortable, but at least he hadn’t said a word about digging through her things for even her unmentionables. Her guess was that he was getting her just enough to be decent to the nekkid eye, which meant she could get her own unmentionables the next Time she actually went upstairs.</p>
<p>        As she was cleaning up in his bathroom, she heard his bedroom door open before it closed again moments later. Even though she was expecting it, a couple quick taps on the bathroom door followed by his muffled voice as he told her that her clothes were on his bed still startled her. Course, this was a more or less clandestine affair, when one thought about it, and she didn’t wanna get caught.</p>
<p>        By the Time she emerged from the bathroom to grab the T-shirt and jeans he’d brought down for her, Rob’d already disappeared again. He’d pointed out two other full bathrooms–one on the first floor, the other upstairs–that weren’t en suites, so she figured he was making use of one of them. After all, it wasn’t like he’d tried to barge into his own bathroom and join her for a shower–not that she’d have denied him entry, if he had. It was <em>his</em> bathroom, so he’d every right to enter it, regardless of who might be using it at any given Time. But not only that, she still wanted so much more that she knew damn good and well he was more than capable of giving her, if he were to throw all Caution to the Wind for a while.</p>
<p>        Only Time’d tell just what’d happen, and whether it’d be between the former spouses or some other Romantic combination. However, one thing was for certain–there was less tension in the Air as said former spouses finally met up in the Silver Fox’s kitchen, where they started their typical Morn routine with coffee. Even Zoe noticed how relaxed both her parents were compared to just the Day previous, although she didn’t remark on it. She still couldn’t help a grin that she just barely managed to hide from her parents, not daring to think about what their relatively good moods might mean. But what none of them realized was that this was just the metaphoric Calm before the Storm, so to speak.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>September, 2020</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Another three months passed, and things’d definitely Changed for Rob and everyone currently living in his house. It hadn’t taken more than a couple weeks after that Morn of grinding on each other for him to finally give in and actually fuck his ex-wife. For the first Time in upwards of twenty Years, they’d been joined in the most intimate manner, and it’d taken him a bit to truly process it.</p>
<p>        While it hadn’t exactly felt any different than any other Time he’d had sex in his Life, it was like a whole new experience at the same Time. It felt as deep and meaningful as the first Time he and Mishy’d ever gone at it upwards of thirty Years ago, but it felt completely different. Honestly, it was like the ultimate melding of their very Souls, absolutely nothing between them–if one didn’t count the rubber he insisted on using, that is. They’d pretty much bared every aspect of themselvesta one another, yet it was as wild and primal as any other tryst they’d ever shared.</p>
<p>        But while he was certainly content with having a sexual outlet again, the Silver Fox couldn’t help feeling a bit of guilt from it. Even though his ex-wife’d filed for divorce from her current husband, she wasn’t exactly single and free game. Course, at the End of the Day, it was her body–she could give it to whomever she pleased whenever the mood struck, and he knew it. However, that didn’t do much to make him feel any better about the situation–no more than her pending divorce did.</p>
<p><em>        “Hitto se, nainen</em>–<em>että ei saa minusta tuntemaan oloani paremmaksi tästä!”</em> Rob snapped, smacking the counter next to his coffee pot for emphasis as he turned to his best friend.</p>
<p><em>        “Sinä olet se joka halusi saada sinun munaa märkä, makeat posket,”</em> said woman retorted with a laugh.</p>
<p>        “Not…helping,” he grumbled, not realizing Mishy was just about to step out his bedroom door when she heard them.</p>
<p>        “Look, I can’t tell ya what to do here,” Raven said, her tone turning more serious. “I’m not gonna say it’s a mess, <em>per sé,</em> but you’re the one who got yourself into this situation.”</p>
<p>        “Ya think I dunno that?” the Silver Fox groaned. “Yeah, I was foolish enough to think I could open my home to the woman I haven’t been able to get over, no matter what I’ve tried, butcha ain’t gotta rub it in my face.”</p>
<p>        “But that’s what best friends’re for,” she mock pouted before erupting into laughter. “No, seriously–you’re the only one who can make this decision. It’s either break it off with her–at least long enough for her divorceta be finalized, if nothing else–or keep carrying on and it bite both of y’all in the ass.”</p>
<p>        “I’d rather go hide at your dad’s house nekkid this Winter and see how long it took me to come back without my dick,” Rob grumbled.</p>
<p>        “Um, dare I ask what the hell I just walked in on?”</p>
<p>        Startled, he whirled around to face the doorway that led to the mudroom outside his bedroom door, his face heating up when he saw his ex-wife standing there. The bewildered look on her face told him that she hadn’t overheard much, but it still did lil to alleviate his current humiliation. He knew he shoulda just stuck with Finnish, which she wouldn’t have been able to understand, but it was easier to switch back to English since that was his Native tongue.</p>
<p>        Grinning at the slightly older woman, Raven told her that it didn’t really matter, if he wasn’t ready to talk to her about it. She was of the mind that he really needed to, but she knew him almost better than he knew himself–he was stubborn to the very marrow of his bones. If he didn’t feel ready to talk about something, it wasn’t gonna happen, and needling him only made him clam up worse.</p>
<p>        Nodding, Mishy agreed that if nothing else, she remembered that much about her ex-husband all too vividly. Instead of pushing him about something he clearly wasn’t ready to discuss, she turned her attention to something else entirely. She’d been curious about why he’d chosen Finnish and Italian outta all the languages on the Planet to learn after their divorce. At least it was a topic that might put him a bit more at-ease, rather than pushing his buttons and making him feel like he was backed into a corner since she wasn’t trying to make him feel like that.</p>
<p>        “Oh, that’s an easy one,” the slightly younger woman laughed. “That’s entirely my fault, not his.”</p>
<p>        “How’s that possible, though?” she queried, Curiosity and confusion at War with one another in her expression.</p>
<p>        “My father’s a Finn, my mother’s Italian,” Raven answered with a grin. “I guess ya could say I’m technically a citizen of three different countries all at once ’cuz of that.”</p>
<p>        The slightly older woman’s expression shifted to pure confusion at that.</p>
<p>        “Well, I’d get my foreign citizenship from both my parents,” she said. “Finnish from my father, Italian from my mother, just like my blood. But I was <em>born</em> here in America, which we all know automatically makes me an American citizen.”</p>
<p>        “Ya seriously weren’t forced into giving up either of the other two, or even both?” Mishy asked, her eyes widening.</p>
<p>        “I guess ya could say I’m more along the lines of an ambassador with diplomatic immunity in Finland and Italy since I’m not a true citizen of either of those countries,” the slightly younger woman admitted. “But regardless, I learned English as much as I learned my parents’ mother tongues when I was a kid.”</p>
<p>        “Trust me, I was at a total loss the first few Times she popped off in either one,” Rob chuckled, sliding a coffee mug toward her before turning toward his ex-wife with one.</p>
<p>        “I can imagine so,” she agreed with a chuckle. “’Cuz what lil I heard–well, let’s just say that I’d have tuned it out, if you’d have kept going without switching back to English.”</p>
<p>        “Like I said before, that’s entirely up to Rob to divulge,” Raven told her, shooting a look at her friend. “If he’s half the sense that the Goddess gave his dick, he’ll do it, even if it takes him a while.”</p>
<p>        “Jesus Christ, woman,” the Silver Fox groaned. “You’re gonna ride my ass like you’ve a strap-on till I do, aren’tcha?”</p>
<p>        “Ya know it,” she said with a grin. “But <em>somebody</em> needsta, and who better than someone who gives two shits, a flying fuck, and a Gods damn aboutcha, rather than someone who doesn’t?”</p>
<p>        “Fair enough,” Rob agreed, sighing heavily. “I know you’re not being malicious about it–more like giving me the swift kick in the drawers I need to get my ass in gear sometimes.”</p>
<p>        Mishy couldn’t help a giggle at their more or less playful banter, easily able to see just how much they meant to the other. It honestly reminded her of good-Natured teasing between siblings who actually got along, rather than fighting like Cats and Dogs. Actually, it reminded her a lot of how her ex-husband used to snark at his older sister, Patty, who gave as good as she got.</p>
<p>        Still not wanting to push him outta his Comfort zone, she opened her mouth to ask about how her former sister-in-law was doing since she hadn’t heard anything about her in Years. But she didn’t get the chance before the Silver Fox turned to her, a serious expression on his face as he raised his mug for a quick sip. The sudden apprehension that overcame her couldn’t be helped, and she couldn’t help biting her lip nervously as she simply looked him dead in the eye, wondering just what was on his mind now.</p>
<p>        Not in the mood to mince words or beat around the bush, Rob took a deep breath and made no bones about how he felt. He made it clear that–no matter how good what they currently had was–they were gonna have to call it off while they were still ahead. The tears that suddenly welled up in his ex-wife’s eyes made him sigh as he held up a hand before she could start railing at him. After all, he wasn’t doing this with any kinda malicious Intent, and certainly not ’cuz he wanted to hurt her.</p>
<p>        “Look, I ain’t saying that it’s gonna be permanent,” he told her. “Fuck only knows I thought that about our getting divorced, and look what wound up happening twenty Years later.”</p>
<p>        “I–I guess that’s fair enough,” Mishy woman agreed with a sniffle.</p>
<p>        “I just–I can’t keep doing this, knowing I’m cuckolding another guy the same way <em>I</em> was once cuckolded,” the Silver Fox sighed. “It’s not the same to me as just fuckin’ a groupie, or my best friend, and not just ’cuz you’re technically my ex-wife.”</p>
<p>        She couldn’t deny that he certainly had a point there as she nodded slowly.</p>
<p>        “Get that divorce finalized, and who knows what’ll happen?” Rob chuckled, moving to gently thumb away the tears she hadn’t even realized were now streaming down her face. “If I was gonna get over ya, it woulda happened already, and I think we both know that.”</p>
<p>        “Oh, this divorce is <em>gonna</em> get finalized,” the slightly older woman said, a determined look settling over her features.</p>
<p>        “And you’re sure about that?” he queried, cocking a brow. “I mean, I’ll be honest–it kinda feels like ya only filed for it ’cuz we wound up on house arrest together, as it were.”</p>
<p>        “That mighta been the match that lit the fuse, so to speak, but there was a lot more leading up to it than ya know,” Mishy assured him.</p>
<p>        Part of him wanted to ask, but the Silver Fox decided it was better not to pry.</p>
<p>        “Let’s just say that Dave and I getting divorced was prolly written in the Stars right from Day one,” she told him. “He and I’ve never exactly been a perfect match–more like <em>he</em> was desperate for a wife, and <em>I</em> was just too fed up with men to do anything but settle for whatever came my way.”</p>
<p>        “Ouch.” Rob couldn’t help a sympathetic wince. “Not exactly the smartest idea, but I can’t really say I blame ya, either.”</p>
<p>        “There’s more to it than that, but I’m not getting into it, if we’re temporarily breaking things off again,” the slightly older woman said. “And before ya ask, let’s just say it’s a <em>need-to-know</em> basis kinda thing.”</p>
<p>        Chuckling as he moved to wrap an arm around her shoulders for a quick squeeze, he made it clear that she didn’t ever have to tell him at all, if she didn’t wanna. After all, if it pertained to her marriage, he considered it none of his business unless she wanted it to be. Since she clearly <em>didn’t</em> want it to be at the moment, he was more than fine with being left in the Dark for now, if it meant they continued getting along relatively well.</p>
<p>        Nodding her agreement, Mishy said that it wasn’t a matter of her not wanting him to know at all, but rather feeling that the Time wasn’t right. She hadn’t shared any other details about her marriage with him, but this was something she couldn’t keep to herself forever. Her only Hope was that she wasn’t forced to tell him before she was ready, which made her cross her fingers behind her back.</p>
<p>        It wasn’t long afterward that Rob’d to head to his restaurant for the Day, if only to take care of payroll so his remaining employees got paid on Time. His friend offered to stay so she wasn’t alone, but left the choice up to her since she’d plenty of waysta entertain herself, if she preferred being alone. Only a few moments of thinking made her decide on just spending the Day by herself so she could have some Time to think. The slightly older woman thanked her for the offer, shooting her what she hoped was a reassuring smile as she turned to head up to the guest room.</p>
<p>        What none of them realized was that the figurative Storm was on the horizon, and things were about to get messy in more ways than one.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Not even a week after coming to the agreement that they needed to break things off till after her second divorce was finalized, Rob was surprised to hear a knock at the door one afternoon. He knew it wasn’t Zak, ’cuz he and his sister both had keysta the house for obvious reasons since one lived there and the other liked popping in at random. In addition to that, he’d given his ex-wife a key once their quarantine was over, but the shutdown going into effect’d more or less trapped her in Florida.</p>
<p>        To that End, he couldn’t help his Curiosity as he set his bass on its stand and made to head downstairs since he was in what was once again his office. As far as he was aware, none of his current household had made any online orders, so they weren’t expecting anything. Course, it was entirely possible that Mishy or Zoe <em>had</em> ordered something, and it’d shown up while they weren’t present. It didn’t really matter to him, ’cuz he wasn’t one to let mail be left on his front porch for anybody to walk up and grab, if he was home and quite capable of accepting it.</p>
<p>        “Keep your balls on–I’m coming!” the Silver Fox yelled when his caller apparently got impatient and knocked again just as he started down the stairs.</p>
<p>        Apparently, whoever it was heard him well enough and seemed to gain a bit of Patience.</p>
<p>        Getting to the bottom of the stairs, Rob saw that whoever was outside his front door most certainly <em>wasn’t</em> a mail carrier. Even with his glasses, all he could tell was that it was a man, but he couldn’t make out any features from across the great room. If he’d been able to, he’d have turned around and walked the other way–and straight out his back door so he could escape around the side of the house.</p>
<p>        “Where the hell’s my wife?” the man growled as soon as he opened the door.</p>
<p>        “Excuse me?” He just barely stopped the man from shoving past him. “I dunno who the hell ya think ya are, bub, but this is <em>my</em> house.”</p>
<p>        “Oh, so <em>you’re</em> the infamous Bobby–fuckin’ figures that you’d be a long-haired hippie, even now.”</p>
<p>        The Silver Fox’s already-high guard rose even higher as he pulled his front door shut behind him when he stepped onto the front porch. “Look, I dunno how ya know one of my nicknames, but I dunno ya from Adam’s house Cat.”</p>
<p>        “Well, you’re about to,” the man snarled.</p>
<p>        If he weren’t a veteran brawler back in the Day and hiding a helluva Secret from even his ex-wife, Rob never woulda stopped the sudden swing he took at him before it connected with his face. “Enough! I dunno who the hell ya are, but you’re not coming to my house, acting like ya own the place, and punching me in the face for no reason!”</p>
<p>        “Dave! What the hell’re ya doing here?”</p>
<p>        Barely glancing over as he pinned the other man’s arms behind his back in a very painful manner, he somehow wasn’t surprised to see the ex-wife in question darting over from his car, which she’d taken to run errands.</p>
<p>        “You’re coming back home, Dana!” he snapped. “Enough fuckin’ around with your ex already!”</p>
<p>        “Wait, this is your current husband?” the Silver Fox queried.</p>
<p>        “Soon-to-be second <em>ex</em>-husband,” Mishy answered, her voice colder than he’d ever heard it at any point during their own marriage.</p>
<p>        “All the more reason for me to break his arms,” Rob said. “Too bad I’m too niceta do that instead of calling the cops on him, even though he tried to break my nose.”</p>
<p>        “You’ve been fuckin’ my wife!” the other man snapped.</p>
<p>        “I neither confirm, nor deny that accusation,” he told him, finally letting him outta the hold he’d put him into. “But you’re not coming here to show your ass when she clearly wants nothing elseta do with ya, so scram.”</p>
<p>        “You’re coming back to Texas and finishing whatcha started,” Dave snarled, turning his attention to the woman somewhat literally caught in the middle of this mess.</p>
<p>        “The hell, I am,” his ex-wife snapped. “Not that I wanna have a child with ya anymore, but that’s not exactly possible at this point.”</p>
<p>        Both men were bewildered by her words, although for different reasons.</p>
<p>        “Kinda hard to get pregnant with your child by any means when I’m already pregnant,” she told him.</p>
<p>        Rob effectively tuned out their argument at that point, glad that his Thoughts weren’t shown in his expression as he leaned back against his front door. He’d known there was something that his ex-wife wasn’t telling him, even when they’d talked about breaking things off not even a week ago. Still, he hadn’t expected such a revelation, so it was understandable that he’d have been shocked since he knew its implications all too well.</p>
<p>        What didn’t make any senseta him, though, was exactly how this kinda thing coulda happened beyond the obvious. After all, he hadn’t gotten snipped like he prolly shoulda done decades ago, so it was entirely possible that he was still capable of fathering a child. But considering that she was only a few Years younger than he was, he’d have thought that Mishy woulda hit menopause by now, and therefore lost her ability to conceive. Maybe she was one of those who hit that Change of Life later than others, and while he wanted to question her about it, he knew this wasn’t the Time for such questions.</p>
<p>        Dave daring to raise his hand like he was gonna slap her was what made him take a step between the pair, a downright deadly look on his face now. Whether she was his ex-wife and pregnant with his child again or not, he wasn’t about to let even her current husband abuse her. If there was one thing he’d been raised <em>not</em> to do, it was hit a woman, and he wouldn’t stand for that behavior now.</p>
<p>        “Get off my fuckin’ property before I royally beat your ass like your parents clearly failed to do,” the Silver Fox growled.</p>
<p>        “She’s <em>my</em> wife!” he protested hotly.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, and? Wife, ex-wife, whatever–she’s also the mother of <em>my</em> children,” Rob told him. “Love or hate her, even twenty Years after our own divorce, I’ll be damned, if I stand back and just <em>let</em> another man beat the shit outta her–especially for a bullshit reason.”</p>
<p>        “Infidelity ain’t a bullshit reason!” the shorter man snapped.</p>
<p>        “Can’t say I disagree there,” he admitted. “’Cuz I woulda loved nothing more than to knock the sense outta her when she cheated on me–and with my best friend, no less. But I was raised better than that, and if I won’t hit her, neither will you.”</p>
<p>        “Ya think Dad’s kidding? Fuckin’ try me, asshole.”</p>
<p>        Glancing back behind him, he saw that Zak’d apparently decided to pay a visit and overheard just enough to bring out his protective bent.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, I ain’t no lil kid anymore, Dave,” he snapped, already rolling up his sleeves. “Ain’t a damn thing ya can do to scare me anymore since I’m now bigger than you.”</p>
<p>        “Have at him, son,” the Silver Fox chuckled. “I’ll let <em>you</em> get one in for me before I set off my neck since ya hit just as hard as I do.”</p>
<p>        “Any particular reason why?” he queried, still obviously seething. “Other than him trying to beat Mom <em>again,</em> that is?”</p>
<p>        Snickering, Rob made no bones about how he’d shown up, apparently with the Intent to kick his ass for supposedly carrying on a fling with his ex-wife. He still didn’t confirm or deny such an allegation, ’cuz it was nobody’s business but their own, but he certainly made his displeasure with nearly winding up with a broken nose clear. That was all his son needed to hear, though, before he caught him with an unexpected upper-cut that knocked him right on his ass in the middle of his front walk for anyone who cared to look to see.</p>
<p>        “Firstcha beat the shit outta Mom so many Times, it’s a Wonder she’s still alive, and now ya come after Dad, too?” the youngest man snarled as he loomed over him.</p>
<p>        “I know he was having an affair with her!” Dave protested, trying to crawl away from him.</p>
<p>        “I don’t care whether they have or haven’t been screwing around the past six months,” he snapped. “What they do or don’t do behind closed doors is no one’s business but their own!”</p>
<p>        “Dana’s <em>my</em> wife!” the shorter man railed for what felt like the nine thousandth Time since his arrival.</p>
<p>        “So fuckin’ what? A piece of paper and a couple rings don’t mean shit!” Zak snapped. “It’s how ya treat your spouse that matters!”</p>
<p>        “What–you’re saying that <em>he</em> ever treated her any better?” he retorted.</p>
<p>        “Ya know, I’ve my faults, and maybe I wasn’t always the best husband and father back in the Day,” Rob said. “But if there’s one thing I <em>can</em> take Pride in, it’s that I choseta hurt myself, rather than hurting my family back when I <em>was</em> still married to <em>Mishy.”</em></p>
<p>        “And I’d say that speaks as much of <em>Dad’s</em> true character as <em>yours,”</em> his son growled. “Now, I’d suggestcha pick your fat ass up from there and go back to Texas where ya belong.”</p>
<p>        Not giving him a chanceta argue, Zak made damn sure he got up and left like he was told to, all but stalking him down to the curb like a big Cat. While he was taking care of that, the Silver Fox gently steered his ex-wife into the house, not wanting her to get caught up in anything, if a full-on brawl broke out. He didn’t even care if she was actually pregnant, or if it’d just been a well-Timed excuseta avoid having to go through mediation–she didn’t deserve to get hurt for no apparent reason.</p>
<p>        As he settled her on the couch in his family room, he couldn’t help but feel blindsided and wonder just where he should Begin. For that matter, he wasn’t sure that he should even dive into this with their son here, and the threat of their daughter walking in at any moment looming over their heads. Course, said kids’d find out about all this eventually, so was it even really worth hiding from them at all?</p>
<p>        Mishy heaved a sigh as she glanced up at him, then looked back down at her lap as she laced her fingers together. While her ex-husband had oft been a hard man to read in the Past, there was no mistaking what was on his mind now. He couldn’t have hidden his confusion and Curiosity–even from somebody who didn’t know him very well at all–if he’d even tried. Besides, she knew this was gonna have to be addressed soon, and that it was better to go ahead and get it over with. For that reason, she made to open the conversation, not even hearing their son open the front door and enter the house.</p>
<p>        “When the fuck were ya planning on telling me about this, Mishy?” Rob asked before she could even get a word out. “Or were ya even planning on telling me at all?”</p>
<p>        “Telling ya what, Dad?” Zak cocked a brow curiously as he walked through the kitchen, his arms crossed over his chest.</p>
<p>        “Dave wasn’t wrong about us having an affair while I’ve been here in Florida,” she sighed, finally looking up again.</p>
<p>        “Kinda saw <em>that</em> coming,” their son dead-panned. “I mean, when ya lock two people in a house together like this, it’s gonna End in one of two ways–either they’re gonna fuck each other, or they’re gonna kill each other.”</p>
<p>        “I’d like to think it’s pretty obvious that we haven’t killed each other,” the Silver Fox chuckled. “Even though we’re ex-spouses and would have every reason in the book to do just that.”</p>
<p>        “You’re too good a man for that, andja know it, Dad,” he told him. “If ya weren’t, you’d have killed her when ya caught her in bed with Eric all those Years ago.”</p>
<p>        “He found the divorce records,” Rob explained before she could even ask how he knew about that. “Course, that’s what happens when ya give your sixteen-Year-old the key to your safe, just in case, when ya let him stay home instead of dragging him on tour with ya.”</p>
<p>        “Do I think it was right of ya to be fuckin’ Dad’s best friend?” Zak queried. “Fuck no, but that’s in the Past, and it needsta stay there. If you’ve managed to <em>kiss and make up,</em> so to speak, enough to avoid killing each other in the past six months–well, who am I to say who ya can or can’t fuck?”</p>
<p>        Unable to argue that particular point, Mishy simply nodded her agreement, glad to know that at least their son wasn’t averseta their screwing around. But she knew that this wasn’t the End of the discussion by far, ’cuz there were still questionsta be answered. First and foremost was the one her ex-husband had asked just as he walked into the room, and she couldn’t help the Anxiety that overcame her.</p>
<p>        Easily sensing that Anxiety–and not just ’cuz he knew her so well, even after all these Years–the Silver Fox gently rubbed her back. He encouraged her to take a few deep breaths, not wanting her to pass out and whack her head on the coffee table in front of them. After all, that wouldn’t get any answersta any questions he asked, and winding up with a concussion certainly wouldn’t behoove her. Besides, her Health was of the utmost importance, especially if she’d been telling the Truth out front when she’d snapped at this <em>Dave</em>.</p>
<p>        “Remember when I walked in on your conversation with Raven a few Days ago?” she queried, turning her attention to him.</p>
<p>        “Look, I know I’m getting older, but my memory ain’t <em>that</em> fucked–yet,” Rob chuckled.</p>
<p>        “I was planning on telling ya <em>then,”</em> his ex-wife said, causing him to sober up almost immediately.</p>
<p>        “You’re fuckin’ shitting me,” he breathed, his eyes widening comically behind the lenses of his glasses.</p>
<p>        “Keep Dreaming, Rob,” Mishy chuckled, a bit of a sarcastic tone to her voice. “Ya didn’t exactly gimme a chance, though.”</p>
<p>        “I–okay, I can’t even Begin to argue that,” the Silver Fox sighed.</p>
<p>        “Anybody care to bring me up to speed before I feel like somebody stuck a fork in my brain and twirled it up like sketti?” Zak queried.</p>
<p>        “Not going into detail since ya don’t need to know, but she’s right–Dave wasn’t wrong in accusing us of having an affair,” Rob told him. “I just wasn’t gonna admit it, ’cuz unless it gets brought up in their divorce hearing, what happens in my house <em>stays</em> in my house.”</p>
<p>        “Fair enough, I guess,” he mused. “I’m guessing that what Mom’s referring to was ya wanting to break things off again till said divorce got finalized?”</p>
<p>        “Bingo, son.” The Silver Fox nodded. “’Cuz let’s face it–whether a second chance works out between us or not, it’s not exactly right of me to do the same thing I wanted to kill her over twenty Years ago.”</p>
<p>        “Can’t say I disagree there,” Zak said. “That part makes perfect senseta me. What <em>doesn’t</em> make sense is whatever it was that she was apparently Intent on telling ya.”</p>
<p>        “That I’m pregnant, and <em>he’s</em> the daddy–again,” Mishy chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Wait a minute.” Their son held up a hand, confusion marring his features. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re fifty-one now, so how the hell haven’tcha hit menopause yet?”</p>
<p>        Unable to help a laugh, despite how forward their son was being, she grinned as she absently rubbed her lower belly in a gesture that was familiar to her ex-husband. Not in the mood to hide anything else from them–or even Zoe, once she got home–she minced no words in answering his question. She was most definitely fifty-one Years old, which automatically put her pregnancy in the high-risk category on its own, but there was a reason for it even happening.</p>
<p>        Ever since she and Dave’d gotten married, they’d wanted at least one child together, which was typical of a couple. She’d been thirty-six when they’d met, forty-one when they finally tied the knot, and they’d both known that her child-bearing Years were quickly coming to an End. For that reason, she’d decided to go on Fertility drugsta stave off the inevitable just long enough to give them a fighting chance at having a child. But even after five Years, she’d never conceived again, and she’d been starting to wonder if it was her second husband’s Fertility that shoulda been in question.</p>
<p>        When she’d gotten the call about Zak’s Health that Spring, Mishy’d packed up her Fertility drugs so she wouldn’t have to go off them during what she’d thought to be a short trip out East. After all, none of them’d expected the World to grind to a screeching halt practically overnight, so she’d fully expected to go back home before the month was out.</p>
<p>        “But when we got put on lockdown for hell-only-knew how long…” she trailed off.</p>
<p>        “Ya still didn’t stop taking them?” Rob queried, trying to make sense of that.</p>
<p>        “Look, Fertility drugs aren’t exactly cheap,” his ex-wife told him. “Whether I wound up sleeping with anybody or not, I figured I might as well just stay on them till I ran out.”</p>
<p>        “I guess that makes sense,” he mused. “It woulda been a waste of money, if you’d just thrown them away, after all.”</p>
<p>        “Needlessta say, I wasn’t expecting us to wind up together for even a one-Night stand,” Mishy chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Hey, you’re the one who started it by more or less breaking into my room that Night!” the Silver Fox laughed.</p>
<p>        “Can’t break into what ain’t locked in the first place,” she retorted with a grin.</p>
<p>        “Just like ya can’t rape the willing,” Rob agreed with a grin of his own. “And if I tried to say that I wasn’t willing–well, I’ll let Zak come over here and knock me into the second Tuesday of next week.”</p>
<p>        “Better watch it, ’cuz I’ma holdja to that, Dad,” their son laughed.</p>
<p>        “Ya don’t have to, son,” he told him. “That was my way of saying that I was all too willing, or I’d have prolly flung Mom out into the floor that first Night when all she did was snuggle up to me ’cuz she was cold.”</p>
<p>        Zak snickered as he told him that he wouldn’t throw any woman outta his bed unless there was simply more room on the floor. He couldn’t help a slight flush creeping up his cheeks as that proved what a pervert their son really was, but he couldn’t exactly blame him. After all, he was just as big a pervert, if not more so–he just didn’t tend to broadcast how much of one he was anymore. To steal a line from Mick Mars, he was just as sick as everyone else–he just preferred to do his sickness in private, as opposed to publicly.</p>
<p>        Knowing that things were even more complicated than they were before, Rob turned his attention to his ex-wife again. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that her pregnancy was gonna come up during the divorce proceedings, and he was willing to take whatever heat he needed to for it. But his bigger concern at the moment was her Health, and for a couple different, but very valid reasons.</p>
<p>        Mishy smiled as she reached into her purse, surprising both men with her when she pulled out small manila envelope that she was quick to open. Pulling out its contents–which she handed to her ex-husband–she said that so far, there wasn’t really anything to worry about. She’d already been to a local OB/GYN, who declared her and the baby both to be in perfect Health for the moment. Even though she was outside the normal age range that this doctor usually worked with, she hadn’t found any kinda abnormalities that’d suggest an abortion being the better option. In fact, she’d actually had to double-check her Birth date, ’cuz she swore she was giving an ultrasound to a twenty-something-Year-old.</p>
<p>        But considering the Health crisis currently affecting the entire Planet, she could understand his concern. Whether her age was a factor or not, no doubt her pregnancy woulda been considered high-risk due to how easily it seemed the virus was contracted. Not only that, but if she were to contract it at any point <em>during</em> her pregnancy, it could kill her far more easily than under normal circumstances. And that wasn’t even including what it could potentially do to the baby, up to and including a premature Birth in an effort to save <em>her</em>–which could kill the child all too easily. Obviously, neither of them’d want anything to happen to their child, but that couldn’t be avoided, if something were to happen to her before she gave Birth.</p>
<p>        Rob dragged a hand down his face as he passed the ultrasound pictures across the coffee table to their son, who looked curious. Outta everything that coulda happened to him this Year, he could safely say that finding out he’d another child on the way definitely wasn’t something he was expecting. Still, he looked determined as he said that he wasn’t gonna let her go through this alone, their Past be damned since he was just as much at fault.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Eight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>October, 2020</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>        Dallas, Texas</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Just like he’d promised the month previous, Rob didn’t let his ex-wife go through any of her current turmoil alone since he was responsible for at least part of it. That was the very reason he’d paid a pretty penny for them to take a private jet out to Texas for her divorce hearing, considering that it’d gone to trial due to a failure at mediation. After all, it hadn’t been filed as <em>no-fault,</em> which basically meant that either party was filing due to irreconcilable differences.</p>
<p>        In the Dallas County Courthouse, he more or less kept his distance while still giving Mishy as much support as he could. Obviously, there was no skirting around the fact that she was pregnant with his child for the third Time. There was already verified documentation due to her going to that OB/GYN to have her pregnancy confirmed in the first place, so she couldn’t deny that part. And whether under oath or not, they’d both agreed that trying to lie about his being the father wouldn’t do them any good. They’d been in close proximity for too long for there not to at least be a chance that he was the father, whether there were other candidates or not.</p>
<p>        As had been scheduled easily over a month ago, the couple and anyone else even remotely involved was called into the courtroom. Zak and Zoe both gave their mother quick, but tight hugs, promising that they’d be waiting upon her Return unless they were called in for some reason. Once they’d stepped back, she squared her shoulders as headed into said courtroom, her ex-husband strategically putting himself between herself and her ex-husband-to-be. But she couldn’t deny that she was still nervous, no matter how this went down–and it wasn’t just ’cuz of her pregnancy.</p>
<p>        “This divorce hearing is now in session,” the Honorable Judge Jillian Stanton declared once all parties were settled. “May I ask that the petitioner identify themselves?”</p>
<p>        “That’d be me, Mrs. Dana Michelle Sanders,” Mishy said, momentarily rising from her seat.</p>
<p>        “And now, the respondent?” she queried.</p>
<p>        “Me, Mr. David Eugene Sanders,” the shorter man said as he mimicked her movements.</p>
<p>        “Now, as I understand it, this is a contested divorce?” The judge’d made a statement as much as asked a question, given her expression.</p>
<p>        “Yes, Your Honor,” she answered with a single nod.</p>
<p>        “On what grounds, Mrs. Sanders?” Judge Stanton queried.</p>
<p>        “Originally, it was irreconcilable differences,” the blonde answered. “But now, I Wish to add spousal abuseta my petition.”</p>
<p>        “Is that so?” She looked more than a lil intrigued.</p>
<p>        “Ya lying–” Dave growled as he glared at her.</p>
<p>        “Sir, close your trap while you’re still ahead,” the judge snapped. “This is <em>my</em> courtroom, and you’ll get your turn to speak your piece–otherwise, you’ll be adorned with a nice, shiny pair of bracelets and escorted out.”</p>
<p>        Rob bit back a snicker from where he sat off to the side, more Intent on listening than causing trouble for either directly-involved party. In fact, he was more interested in what his ex-wife’d to say as far as that alleged spousal abuse went than anything. She hadn’t exactly said much about her marriage, and he certainly hadn’t asked since he felt he’d no right, but he couldn’t help his Curiosity now.</p>
<p>        Taking a deep breath, Mishy looked the judge square in the eye as she effectively rewound the last fifteen Years or so in her mind. When they’d first met, her second husband had seemed the polar opposite of the Silver Fox–Calm, polite, and well put-together were just a few adjectives that came to mind. She never woulda suspected that he was the kinda man he <em>really</em> was when they were merely dating, and later engaged. But he’d been quick to show his true Colors after their wedding, starting with the very Night of said event.</p>
<p>        Dave’d taken care that none of their collective kids were around–Zak and Zoe were always in Florida with their father, his own boys in Travis County with their mother at their home outside Austin. If any of their kids were in the house, he never so much as shot a dirty look in her Direction, but when it was just the two of them–well, it was like Mr. Hyde came out to play. Anything he’d pent up while the kids were around was unleashed tenfold, especially when she’d fail to conceive.</p>
<p>        “So, you’ve been trying to have a child together for at least ten Years?” Judge Stanton queried.</p>
<p>        “To no avail, Your Honor,” she answered, nodding. “Even having been on Fertility drugs in an effort to stave off my next Change of Life hasn’t done anything to help, just made me miserable.”</p>
<p>        “Being a woman myself, I’ma assume ya refer to monthly cycles with that,” the judge chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Well, I don’t think I need to explain what a misery they can be, but I will, if I need to,” Mishy said, unable to help a chuckle of her own.</p>
<p>        “That’s not necessary, Mrs. Sanders,” she told her. “Any woman who reads the transcripts’ll get it, and I doubt the men <em>wanna</em> know.”</p>
<p>        The blonde simply nodded, waiting for her to decide how to continue.</p>
<p>        “I’ve to ask, though–do you’ve proof of these alleged beatings?” Judge Stanton queried.</p>
<p>        “I most certainly do.” She nodded as she handed a thick sheaf of paper to the bailiff that took a step toward her. “I know that most of it’s bound to be declared hearsay, or said could easily passed off as just being clumsy, though.”</p>
<p>        “A lotta these bruises could definitely be from accidental falls or the like,” the judge agreed, leafing through what appeared to be pictures. “Not the ones that obviously look like fingerprints, or a too-tight choker ringing your throat, though.”</p>
<p>        Rob barely bit back a growl as he glared at the back of her ex-husband-to-be’s head, his hands curling into fists in his lap. He’d give up everything short of his kids and his very Soul to be able to dive over the short barrier wall between him and that asshole, and give him the beating he more than deserved. Not even knowing he’d pull jail Time for such an assault–and in front of a judge, at that–could make him bite back that desire.</p>
<p>        However, said judge was far more astute than she let on, judging by how she momentarily turned her attention to him. She minced no words in asking if they needed to take a short break, which he was quick to wave off. The sooner they got the unpleasant parts over with, the sooner they could get outta here altogether, and he wanted no delays any more than Mishy did.</p>
<p>        Nodding, Judge Stanton told him that–unless he was needed for something–he wouldn’t be held in contempt for leaving the courtroom before he did something to get himself in trouble. She got the feeling that he played a bigger role in this case than simply offering moral support to a friend, or he’d have waited out front when the couple was called in. Lil did she know just how right she was as she turned her attention back to the blonde who’d filed the petition for divorce in the first place, turning the floor back over to her for now.</p>
<p>        “My other evidenceta support the allegations of abuse’re my medical records,” Mishy said.</p>
<p>        “How so? ’Cuz I’ll admit, there’s too much here to read through all of it without this taking several Days, at the very least,” the judge told her.</p>
<p>        “If I may approach the bench, Your Honor,” she said.</p>
<p>        “Request granted,” Judge Stanton told her, nodding.</p>
<p>        “These’re the earliest records I have from any OB/GYN,” the blonde explained, flipping to the very Beginning of her file. “I couldn’t afford such Healthcare prior to my first marriage, so I’ve none pre-dating that event.”</p>
<p>        “Which was…?” she queried, her brow cocked curiously.</p>
<p>        “October twenty-fourth, 1989,” Mishy answered.</p>
<p>        “And I’m not gonna have to file pergery charges, if I were to look up those records, am I?” the judge asked.</p>
<p>        “I can prove she’s not lying right now, Your Honor,” Rob spoke up.</p>
<p>        “Then please, by all means, sir,” Judge Stanton said, waving him up to the bench, as well.</p>
<p>        Nodding, he rose from his seat and joined the pair as he flipped open a binder to pull out a sheet of paper that was quickly handed to her.</p>
<p>        “And who’s the <em>Robert Kuykendall</em> listed on this?” the judge queried, skimming over the decades-old Florida marriage certificate she was presented with.</p>
<p>        “That’d be me, Your Honor,” Rob answered.</p>
<p>        “So, you’re Mrs. Sanders’ <em>ex</em>-husband?” she asked, looking up at him in surprise.</p>
<p>        “The only one that I’m aware of–for now.” The Silver Fox nodded. “But we’ll get into the role I play in the here-and-now in a lil bit, if ya please.”</p>
<p>        “I’d prefer to keep things in chronological order, if at all possible,” Judge Stanton agreed with a nod of her own.</p>
<p>        Taking back his copy of their old marriage certificate, Rob Returned to his seat so he could continue listening. He knew it’d be a while yet before any further testimony was needed from him, and no matter how pissed he got, he hadn’t come here to cause trouble. If nothing else, he’d get his own questions answered since no one could lie under oath without facing serious charges for it.</p>
<p>        Getting the hearing back on track, the judge turned her attention back to today’s petitioner so she could make her point. Mishy pointed out a couple things from the very Beginning of her medical chart, her voice too low for anyone elseta hear clearly. After that, she pointed out a couple things from the Time period at the very Beginning of her first marriage. Following that, it was a couple things that dated back to the first two Years of her son’s Life, give or take, before she flipped forward in Time, beyond even when her daughter was born and her first divorce.</p>
<p>        Starting less than a Year after getting married for the second Time, there were findings recorded in her chart that were definitely unnatural. During the duration of her first marriage, she was never found to sustain any genital bruising or tearing–internal <em>or</em> external–even after a rough Night with her ex-husband right before a gynecological appointment. Over the course of her second marriage, almost every appointment noted <em>some</em> kinda genital trauma that couldn’t have been Self-inflicted.</p>
<p>        “Considering how far back your medical records date, there’s no way these findings <em>weren’t</em> caused by forced intercourse,” Judge Stanton said.</p>
<p>        Unable to help the humiliation, she simply nodded as her face and neck turned red. “Hence why I obtained copies of these records before I bothered turning up today, Your Honor.”</p>
<p>        “I’ve to ask, both for the record and my own Curiosity–why the hell didn’tcha file for divorce sooner, Mrs. Sanders?” the judge queried, using a single finger to make her look up at her by raising her chin.</p>
<p>        “Ya think it’s easy, to try convincing everyone around me of what he was doing to me for ten Years?” Mishy countered, tears welling up in her eyes. “My doctor believed me, but without catching him in the act since a lotta folks’d just say I liked it rough, there wasn’t a damn thing she could do.”</p>
<p>        Sighing, she nodded since she knew she’d a point.</p>
<p>        “Ya think it’s easy to bring all thista Light today, my ex-husband sitting back there barely restraining himself from killing Dave right in front of ya?” the blonde asked, her voice starting to tremble.</p>
<p>        “Is this true, Mr. Kuykendall?” Judge Stanton queried, looking toward the back of the room.</p>
<p>        “Do ya really want me to answer that, Your Honor?” Rob growled. “’Cuz I can guarantee ya won’t like my answer, whether it gets me in trouble or not.”</p>
<p>        “I’m not gonna hold it againstcha, which means no one else present save the respondent will, either,” she told him.</p>
<p>        “My dearly departed mama raised me to beat the shit outta any man that came after me first–same goes for my older brother, too,” the Silver Fox said. “And I raised my own son–<em>Mishy’s</em> son–the same way after my divorce in the Summer of 2001.”</p>
<p>        Nodding, Judge Stanton motioned for him to continue.</p>
<p>        “Regardless of anything between her and I, I’m not gonna just stand around and let another man beat on my ex-wife like she’s a punching bag,” he told her. “If I’d known this shit was going on–even if none of the kids were around…well, let’s just say I wouldn’t be in this room right now, ’cuz I’d prolly be sitting on Death row awaiting my execution date and leave it at that.”</p>
<p>        “If we need to take a short recess for ya to Calm down a bit, we can, Mr. Kuykendall,” the judge told him.</p>
<p>        “Oh, nothing short of a fistfight’s gonna Calm me down right now,” Rob said. “But I’d rather call up a buddy of mine for an impromptu sparring match than unleash a side of myself even my ex-wife doesn’t know about, especially in a courtroom.”</p>
<p>        Even said blonde looked confused, which made him chuckle wryly.</p>
<p>        “Didja forget that Rikki’s a black belt in <em>Jiu Jitsu?”</em> he snickered.</p>
<p>        Mishy’s eyes widened as she caught on to what he meant without further explanation.</p>
<p>        Turning his attention back to Judge Stanton, the Silver Fox was more than glad to explain what he meant since he could tell she was curious. His friend being trained in the martial Art of Brazilian <em>Jiu Jitsu</em> came in handy, ’cuz it’d turned into a win-win for both of them. In teaching him what he’d been taught in his own classes, Rikki’d gained a sparring partner when they were on tour and a dummy just wasn’t cutting it. However, in learning what his friend had been taught, he’d basically gotten free Self-Defense lessons for himself that he could use whenever he felt the need.</p>
<p>        “I got so into it from sparring with Rikki that I eventually started taking my own classes,” Rob explained. “Now, I’ma certified purple belt, so it’s not exactly smart for somebody to come after me, my history as a brawler notwithstanding.”</p>
<p>        “No, I don’t suppose it’d behoove anyone to try attacking <em>you,”</em> she agreed with a laugh. “But clearly, that training’s helping to keep ya in check now.”</p>
<p>        “That, and knowing that my friend–who’s also my Professor–would tear me limb-from-limb, if I used what he taught me for the wrong reasons,” the Silver Fox admitted.</p>
<p>        “Well, to keep this hearing moving, I’ll admit that I’m more than a lil curious about how ya tie into the here-and-now,” Judge Stanton told him.</p>
<p>        Nodding, he moved to be officially sworn in before settling next to his ex-wife. “Fire away, Your Honor.”</p>
<p>        “Ya said that you and Mrs. Sanders underwent your own divorce proceedings in the Summer of 2001, correct?” the judge queried.</p>
<p>        “Summer, Autumn–depends on when ya consider late-August to fall,” Rob answered, nodding.</p>
<p>        “I’d say Summer,” she mused as she made a note to herself. “Is that when the petition was filed, or when it was finalized?”</p>
<p>        “Filed,” the Silver Fox answered. “By me, on the grounds of adultery.”</p>
<p>        That seemed to catch her attention, judging by how Judge Stanton’s gaze rose back to his face.</p>
<p>        “The long and short of it–I was forced to undergo an emergency discectomy and spinal fusion in early-August of that Year,” he explained. “I wanna say August fifth, but I can’t remember the exact date off the top of my head without reviewing my own medical files.”</p>
<p>        “That’s good enough for me, Mr. Kuykendall,” the judge told him.</p>
<p>        “Upon my Return home, I caught my ex-wife in bed with my former best friend,” Rob continued. “Needlessta say, I haven’t heard of very men who’re very forgiving when they find themselves in that kinda situation.”</p>
<p>        “Nor women, if we’re honest,” she chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Since Florida laws’re different and Mishy wasn’t willing to fight it, the divorce was finalized by mid-September,” the Silver Fox said. “Till March of this Year, the only contact I’ve had with her since revolved around our son and daughter, who’re now grown.”</p>
<p>        Nodding, Judge Stanton said that that made perfect senseta her, ’cuz there were very few cases where a couple got divorced, then reconciled later on. And for the ones who did, they usually didn’t remarry unless it wasta people <em>other</em> than their former spouses. Therefore, she wasn’t surprised that he may’ve harbored negative feelings toward today’s petitioner and wanted as lil as possible to do with her in the Time since their divorce.</p>
<p>        However, what he’d said about that remaining true up till the Spring of this Year caught her attention, and she made no bones about it. Chuckling as he laced his fingers on the tabletop in front of himself, Rob minced no words with his explanation. It was hard for him to relieve those few weeks, but he was more than strong enough to handle it without breaking down.</p>
<p>        The judge was horrified to find out that Zak’d come down with the virus still wreaking havoc across the Globe. But she didn’t have to ask why he’d have gotten in touch with his ex-wife about it since it was only right that he do so. In being the young man’s other parent, she’d a right to know if he was having serious Health issues unless he’d gotten the help of an attorney to file his own paperwork stating the contrary. After all, he was a grown man now, so he was the only one who could make that kinda decision for himself, as long as he was of sound mind.</p>
<p>        “My point exactly, Your Honor,” the Silver Fox said. “Zak’s filed no such paperwork, and I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself, if I’d cut Mishy outta that and he <em>hadn’t</em> made it.”</p>
<p>        “Sounds like a fine man of good morals and character to me,” Judge Stanton mused.</p>
<p>        “I’d like to think so, but then again, I’ve done things in my past that I’m not proud of,” he admitted.</p>
<p>        “I’m sure we all have, Mr. Kuykendall,” the judge reassured him with a chuckle. “So, I’m to assume that Mrs. Sanders Traveled to Florida for what coulda very well been your son’s funeral?”</p>
<p>        “I did, Your Honor,” Mishy answered, nodding. “At the Time, there were no shutdowns in place, so interstate Travel wasn’t exactly restricted yet.”</p>
<p>        “But those restrictions <em>were</em> in place by the Time your son was discharged to finish recovering at home?” she queried.</p>
<p>        “No, not then, either,” the blonde answered. “But we were put under quarantine for two weeks, just to be sure none of us who’d contact with him’d be spreading the virus, knowingly or unknowingly.”</p>
<p>        “Ah, I see now.” Judge Stanton nodded. “Ya were technically free to Travel, as per when the restrictions were formally put into place when your son was discharged. But by the Time your quarantine was over andja were completely free to Return home, those restrictions’d been put into place.”</p>
<p>        “Yes, Your Honor,” both former spouses chorused.</p>
<p>        “Since I’d already opened my home to her, rather than throwing her in a hotel room and saying <em>Good Luck, Mish,</em> I wasn’t about to throw my ex-wife out then, either,” Rob said.</p>
<p>        “So, she’s technically been living in Florida with you for the past six or seven months?” she queried.</p>
<p>        “Technically and physically, yes,” the Silver Fox answered. “Legally, no–she never Changed her address since we weren’t expecting the shutdown to last this long.”</p>
<p>        “Then even I can’t legally throw this case out on the grounds that she’s filed in not only the wrong County, but the wrong State,” Judge Stanton laughed. “If she’s legally a resident of Texas, she’s every right to file here.”</p>
<p>        Nodding, Mishy said that she’d moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area shortly after her first divorce, and she’d lived here ever since. The only Time she left the State aside from visiting relatives in California was when she accompanied her kids on their Return tripsta Florida. Well, that was assuming that her ex-husband wasn’t passing through while on tour and picked them up on his way back East, especially if he was on the verge of rounding out a tour. But since that didn’t exactly pertain to the current case, none of them saw any reason to delve any further into that.</p>
<p>        The judge made a few more notesta herself before looking back up at her petitioner, a serious expression Dominating her features. As she always did when presiding over such a case, she made damn sure she was certain in her decision to file for divorce from her second husband. She wanted to be sure she hadn’t Changed her mind in the interim, even though it didn’t seem that she had.</p>
<p>        Issuing a nod of her own, the blonde assured her that she was certain in her decision, and even now had additional reasonsta go through with it. Naturally, that caught not only Judge Stanton’s attention, but that of everyone else in the room–even the bailiff. This was the part that she hadn’t been looking forward to more so than having to face Dave again, and she didn’t even notice when she grabbed her ex-husband’s hand tightly.</p>
<p>        “I recently found out that I’m pregnant, Your Honor,” Mishy said, only noticing what she’d done when she felt him Return that squeeze.</p>
<p>        “I thought you’d said your attempts for a child with Mr. Sanders were to no avail?” She couldn’t help her confusion.</p>
<p>        “Dave’s not the father of this child,” the blonde said matter-of-factly.</p>
<p>        “Then who is?” Judge Stanton queried, now even more confused.</p>
<p>        “The same man who fathered my grown children,” she answered, biting her lip.</p>
<p>        Nobody got a chanceta say a word before Dave let out an enraged cry.</p>
<p>        “I fuckin’ knew it, ya lil slut!” he screeched. “I fuckin’ knew ya were fuckin’ around with your ex out there in Florida!”</p>
<p>        Mishy couldn’t help a scream as his fist connected with her cheek, instinctively curling up to protect herself and her unborn child as she was knocked outta her chair.</p>
<p>        “Enough!”</p>
<p>        A much louder <em>thud!</em> rang out through the courtroom as the Silver Fox finally landed the blow he’d been dying to swing at him.</p>
<p>        “Apparently, I didn’t make it clear enough when ya showed up at my house and tried to hit <em>me</em> that I wouldn’t stand for this shit!” he snapped, now looming over him.</p>
<p>        The shorter, less fit man actually whimpered as he stared up at him from where he’d been knocked on his ass once again.</p>
<p>        “Ya gimme one good reason <em>not</em> to finish what I just started–one better than there being a roomful of cops ready to shoot, taze, and cuff me–ya fuckin’ dick,” Rob snarled.</p>
<p>        Nobody so much as drew a breath, let alone said a word.</p>
<p>        “I toldja, love or hate her, I’m not gonna stand back and just <em>let</em> another man hit Mishy like that,” the Silver Fox growled. “Her being pregnant with my child in the midst of this incident only stokes my ire even more.”</p>
<p>        Dave merely whimpered again.</p>
<p>        “That’s enough, Mr. Kuykendall,” Judge Stanton finally said. “I think he gets the point well enough.”</p>
<p>        Even though he clearly didn’t wanna, he backed off, but he wasn’t stupid enough to turn his back on his enemy for even a split second.</p>
<p>        “And if he <em>doesn’t</em> get the point with that single hit I’ll allow on the grounds of defending an innocent woman, I’m sure a stint in the slammer <em>will</em> get it across,” the judge continued.</p>
<p>        “Ya can’t do this!” he protested as a pair of cops hauled him up to his feet.</p>
<p>        “Oh, but I <em>can,</em> Mr. Sanders,” she told him. “Not only can I holdja in contempt for disrupting <em>my</em> courtroom once again, but I can have assault charges filed on <em>Mrs.</em> Sanders’ behalf since I bore witnessta your attack on her.”</p>
<p>        The shorter man hurled every obscenity he could think of at the man he felt was stealing his wife from him, even as he was cuffed and read his rights. Rob didn’t let any of the name-calling get to him any more than when Music critics were lobbing them at himself and the rest of his band throughout the eighties. What he <em>did</em> do was reach up to rub the back of his neck, which he rolled with a grimace in a futile attempt to pop it.</p>
<p>        Concerned for their well-being, Judge Stanton motioned to have medics brought in for both her petitioner and the man still at her side. Mishy could stand getting checked out, if only to make sure the blow that’d been landed to her cheek hadn’t caused a concussion. Knowing she was pregnant and obviously at high-risk due to her age, she was even more concerned about her Health. And her concern for the man at her side stemmed from knowing about his past corrective surgery, which she knew to be pretty serious for personal reasons.</p>
<p>        Luckily, the Silver Fox turned out to be perfectly fine aside from pain that flared up, if he jerked his head the wrong way. The medics were quick to clear him, although they still recommended that he follow up with his doctor just to be absolutely sure. But they were also quick to agree that if this could happen just from a quick, jerky movement to check for traffic while driving, he was likely fine.</p>
<p>        A quick, but thorough exam by another pair of medics proved that other than a bruised cheek and mildly elevated blood pressure, his ex-wife and unborn child were just fine. They, too recommended that she follow up with her doctor to be absolutely sure, but there wasn’t really anything they could do for her without even worse occurring. Other than that, the only thing they could tell them wasta keep an eye on her and head straight to the ER, if her mental state started deteriorating or she started bleeding. Those could be indicative of a head injury they weren’t equipped to handle or a miscarriage, depending on which one occurred. Hopefully, no such thing’d happen, but considering the events of today, none of them’d be surprised, if that wound up being the case.</p>
<p>        Given all that she’d heard, read, and otherwise seen with her own eyes, the judge wasn’t about to deny her petitioner. She was all for signing off on the divorce decree, considering that it was potentially lethal for her to remain married to her respondent. For that reason, she even strongly suggested that she Change her surname to anything <em>but</em> Sanders, and even be ready to take custody of her stepkids since she was their legal mother.</p>
<p>        Nodding her agreement, Mishy was quick to decide that it was better for her to revert to her former married name. Without looking over old paperwork like the original copy of her Birth certificate, she couldn’t even remember what her maiden name was anymore. She’d spent too many Years as a Kuykendall–then a Sanders–to consider herself part of the family that’d originally borne her, as far as a surname went. But even as she signed off on even that legal name Change, she looked up at her ex-husband and made it clear that she wasn’t trying to put ideas in his head. The good thing was that–given the circumstances–he understood what she meant and even encouraged it for hers and their unborn child’s safety.</p>
<p>        With all the paperwork signed and off to be filed, the Silver Fox was more than ready to get outta the courthouse so they could all relax. Naturally, Zak and Zoe were horrified by the shiner their mother came out with, but overjoyed to hear that their now-ex-stepfather was getting what he deserved. They were glad to hear that he’d finally be serving Time for what he’d put their mother through for the last decade of her Life.</p>
<p>        But on the drive over to the home the blonde’d shared with him during that Time, Rob knew there were other arrangementsta be made. While she’d legally adopted her stepsons and technically now had full custody, he didn’t want the boys’ mother feeling excluded. He knew they were gonna have to have a meeting with her about them being taken to Florida long-term, ’cuz he’d no doubt that his ex-wife was gonna move back there, now that she was divorced again. Obviously, if she was gonna have anything to do with them, the woman’d have to be on board with such a move, and they’d have to come up with a custody arrangement that suited everyone.</p>
<p>        For the moment, though, he insisted they just take the chanceta chill out and relax in the Hopes of Mishy not losing their third child due to stress. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a Day, and any custody arrangements didn’t have to be made in such a short Time, either. They could take their Time with that, considering that he could run his restaurant from afar for a short Time as they worked on that.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Nine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>At the house she’d shared with what was now her second ex-husband, Mishy wasn’t surprised when the first one motioned to their son before she could open the door of the rental car they’d all piled into. She wouldn’t deny that she was more than a lil lightheaded from the blow he’d landed right in front of the judge, but not to the point of passing out or anything. It definitely wouldn’t be smart to try walking without help for a while, and she knew it without having to think about it.</p>
<p>        Still, she couldn’t help a startled squeal when Zak swept her up bridal-style, which she’d have expected outta his father. Course, as she wrapped her arms around his neck outta instinct, she supposed it wouldn’t be smart for Rob to do that kinda thing, if his neck was already acting up. In fact, that was prolly why he’d motioned to their son as he was climbing outta the front seat moments earlier.</p>
<p>        Having taken her keys from her, said Silver Fox more or less led the charge up to the front door with as many of their bags as he could carry for the moment. Once his ex-wife and their daughter were in the house, he knew that he and their son’d come back out for what lil was left. In the meantime, he wanted to get the former of those women into the house so she could change outta her dressy attire, then settle in to relax. Not only that, but he wanted to get outta his own suit, and he was sure their kids felt the same way since they’d also dressed up more than normal.</p>
<p>        “Mom!”</p>
<p>        Looking up after unlocking and opening the front door, Rob wasn’t surprised to see two teenage boys emerge from what looked like the living room.</p>
<p>        “What on Earth happened to ya, Mom?” the slightly taller of the pair queried as Zak set his mother on her feet.</p>
<p>        “Um…” Mishy bit her lip, clearly unsure of whether to answer that question.</p>
<p>        “Let’s just say your dad’s not coming back for a long fuckin’ Time,” the oldest of the children dead-panned.</p>
<p>        “He hitcha again?” the shorter of the teens asked on a gasp.</p>
<p>        “Right in front of the judge,” Rob growled, hanging her keys up on a hook next to the front door. “He’s damned lucky I’d sense enough not to hit him more than once on her behalf.”</p>
<p>        “Wait, who’re you?” Both teens looked confused as they asked that question in unison.</p>
<p>        “Gee, I’m surprisedja can’t tell, boys,” Zak laughed, moving to wrap an arm around him. “I mean, it’s not like I’m practically his clone or anything.”</p>
<p>        “You’re pushing it, son,” he dead-panned, even though a smirk was starting to curve his lips.</p>
<p>        “All right, all right.” His son laughed as he turned back toward the front door. “I’d rather ya not beat my ass like a red-headed stepchild in a sparring match I’ve no Hope in Hell of winning, Dad.”</p>
<p>        “Nah, I’d unleash that side of myself on Rikki since I know he can take it,” the Silver Fox chuckled. “But you–don’t think I won’t bust out a few of my best tour punishments on ya, if need be.”</p>
<p>        “Agh, fuck no!” Zak looked horrified at the very Thought, just like he’d Intended. “Not going there again–I’d enough of <em>that</em> when I was sixteen or so!”</p>
<p>        Everybody cracked up as he helped his ex-wife through the doorway that most definitely led to the living room. Mishy was obviously curious as to what they meant by that, which made him grin before miming zipping his lips and throwing away the key. All he’d tell her was that he’d gotten their son good with a few very Creative punishments, which’d quickly taught him not to push his buttons, when he’d take him out on tour with him.</p>
<p>        Still knowing what a bad idea it wasta irritate him when he was already in a bad mood, she simply nodded and started down the hall to their right. Naturally, he kept her pulled against his side as he more or less followed along, not even caring about where she was heading. Course, he wasn’t exactly surprised when they got to the End of the hall and she cut a left into what was obviously the master bedroom. It was certainly bigger than either of the suites that could be called the master in his own home, but this house was also a lot newer than his.</p>
<p>        Ignoring the questions he heard being lobbed by the pair of teens, Rob gently closed the bedroom door behind them. While he’d every Intention of giving his ex-wife her privacy, he was also Intent on staying close and hand in case she needed anything. The only reason he’d go into the master bathroom with her’d be to make sure she didn’t fall while changing since he knew she was lightheaded.</p>
<p>        “Ya don’t have to stay, Rob,” Mishy sighed, unbuttoning the her dressy jacket.</p>
<p>        “I’d rather ya not fall and get hurt,” the Silver Fox told her, leaning back against the dresser across from the foot of her bed. “I know you’re lightheaded, ’cuz ya forget–I used to take a lotta KO punches back in the Day.”</p>
<p>        “Oh, I haven’t forgotten,” she laughed.</p>
<p>        “Besides, you’re pregnant–I imagine you’re already not feeling your best ’cuz of that, alone,” Rob mused.</p>
<p>        “Eh, the Morn sickness ain’t quite as bad as it was with Zak and Zoe–yet,” his ex-wife admitted.</p>
<p>        “I kinda figured since it hasn’t hit <em>me</em> very hard yet, either,” he chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Wait, what?” Mishy turned wide eyes on him as she processed that.</p>
<p>        “Never knew I got hit with <em>Sympathy</em> sickness, huh?” the Silver Fox queried with a grin.</p>
<p>        “No, I never knew that,” she answered, shaking her head.</p>
<p>        “The guys thought I’d a serious case of food poisoning around the Time ya found outcha were pregnant with Zak,” Rob explained. “When they finally managed to drag me into an ER since we were on tour, the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with me. After she convinced the guysta leave, she asked me just how sexually active I was.”</p>
<p>        “Which Naturally woulda thrown ya for a loop since <em>you’re</em> not the one who can get pregnant,” his ex-wife laughed.</p>
<p>        “Exactly. But when I told her that we’d just found out that <em>you</em> were pregnant, she told me that while rare, Daddy getting hit with Sympathy sickness could happen,” he told her as she headed into her bathroom.</p>
<p>        “I imagine that’s not exactly helping your mood today, if it’s already started to hit somewhat,” Mishy mused.</p>
<p>        “Not exactly, and I can safely say I’m not looking forward to when ya pop,” the Silver Fox chuckled. “Well, not till <em>after</em> then, that is.”</p>
<p>        Confused, she cocked a brow at him before heading into the massive closet that branched off the master bathroom to grab some more comfortable clothes. She’d never been aware that he’d felt every bit of her labor with their son as he was trying to get back home from his last show in New York before getting a bit of a Christmas break. That last show’d been three Days before Zak’s Birth, but inclimate Weather’d impeded his Travel back to Florida, so he’d just barely made it in Time to see the boy born. Part of her’d always held that against him a bit, if only ’cuz he’d promised to be there through her entire labor, but another part’d been Understanding since he’d no Control over the Weather.</p>
<p>        Laughing as he leaned against the vanity nearest the bathroom door, Rob explained all of that to her for the first Time in their Lives. He’d felt every single contraction she had as if <em>he</em> were the one in labor, even <em>after</em> she’d gotten her epidural. It certainly hadn’t been a pleasant experience for him, especially once his flight home’d taken off and pressure Changes in the plane cabin compared to on the ground worsened his pain.</p>
<p>        His ex-wife couldn’t help a laugh of her own as she reappeared from her closet, now dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Disappearing behind the wall at the End of the jetted tub into a lil niche across from the linen cabinet on the far side of the other vanity, she was quick to take a quick potty break, despite him still being within earshot. Still, even as she got herself cleaned up again and flushed, she admitted that his rotten mood as she was delivering their son certainly made a lot more sense, now that she knew that about him.</p>
<p>        “Hell, my rotten mood as ya were delivering Zoe oughta make a lot more sense now, too,” the Silver Fox told her.</p>
<p>        “Wait, it happened <em>then,</em> too?” Mishy queried, her eyes wide once again as she reappeared to wash her hands.</p>
<p>        “Oh, yeah.” He nodded as he moved to take his own potty break now. “It wasn’t as bad since I didn’t have to board a flight during your labor, but it still hurt like hell.”</p>
<p>        “And you’re thinking the same thing’s gonna happen again,” his ex-wife mused as she now dried her hands.</p>
<p>        “Hey, if it happened the first two Times, why wouldn’t it happen during the third?” Rob laughed.</p>
<p>        “Well, might be that the third Time’s the Charm in ya <em>not</em> getting hit with it,” she giggled.</p>
<p>        “Not very likely, I don’t think,” the Silver Fox said, unable to help a sigh since he’d to go pretty bad.</p>
<p>        “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see, huh?” Mishy chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Not much else we <em>can</em> do,” he agreed, quickly zipping up before flushing.</p>
<p>        “Well, get your hands washed so ya can change, if you’re gonna,” his ex-wife told him. “No doubt Gunnar and Grayson’re driving Zak and Zoe nuts with questions right about now.”</p>
<p>        “First and foremost prolly being if I really <em>am</em> Zak and Zoe’s dad,” Rob said.</p>
<p>        “I wouldn’t be surprised, even though Zak’s always looked just like ya,” she laughed.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” The Silver Fox rolled his eyes as he washed his hands, a sarcastic tone coloring his voice. “’Cuz yeah, I really <em>did</em> spit him outta my dick without needing ya.”</p>
<p>        “I’d like to think pushing a nine-pound Turkey outta a hole <em>that</em> tiny woulda hurt!” Mishy cackled.</p>
<p>        Rolling his eyes again, he made it pretty clear that he’d have prolly needed a C-section, if he’d been the one to carry and deliver either of their existing children. God knew that a woman was designed to stretch so she could give Birth, but men most certainly weren’t. Trying to do such a thing prolly woulda Destroyed him, no matter what orifice he was forced to deliver through, considering such orifices weren’t designed with that in mind.</p>
<p>        Once they’d stepped outta the bathroom, the Silver Fox realized that Zak’d apparently brought his suitcaseta the master suite for him. After a few moments, he’d dug his own change of clothes out before disappearing back into the bathroom. He wasn’t shy about undressing in front of his ex-wife, but he didn’t wanna listen to any lip outta anyone, if he didn’t have to.</p>
<p>        With his clothes changed so that even <em>he</em> was more comfortable, Rob wrapped an arm around said ex-wife’s shoulders again. Just like when they’d first met, they made quite the sight as he helped her back down the hall to the living room. Even though his neck surgery alongside getting older’d shaved a couple inches off his height so that he was now five-ten, she was still every bit the five-two she’d always been in the Past. If she wasn’t, he’d say that she’d shrunk to only five-one or five-foot-even at the worst, but that didn’t matter to him. He’d always liked his women petite, which was why he’d been so attracted to her all those Years ago.</p>
<p>        In the living room, he helped her settle onto the couch that was up against the wall separating living from dining room. Mishy shot him a thankful smile, Silently inviting him to settle next to her by patting the cushion to her right. Uncaring of what the teens settled on the other side of the L-shaped couch thought, he was quick to take her up on that invitation. Their own kids were already settled in the arm chairs in front of the back door, which were turned so that they faced them. Now that everyone was settled, though, he knew that questions were about to start flying like Birds, so to speak.</p>
<p>        “So, you’re <em>really</em> Zak and Zoe’s dad?” the taller of the teens queried, Curiosity coloring his features.</p>
<p>        “If I’m not, then their mom’s some ’splaining to do,” the Silver Fox chuckled. “Especially in Zak’s case since he’s always been a lil clone of me.”</p>
<p>        “There’s no way,” the shorter of the teens breathed, his eyes widening.</p>
<p>        “He’s not kidding, Grayson,” his ex-wife giggled. “Hell, Zak looks like a clone of his dad when his dad was that age.”</p>
<p>        “Wait, you’re serious?” he queried.</p>
<p>        “As a heart attack, kid,” Rob answered, reaching into his pocket.</p>
<p>        After a few moments, he handed his phone to him, snickering as his eyes somehow widened even more.</p>
<p>        “That was from about a Year before Zak was born,” the Silver Fox chuckled. “Well, maybe not quite that long–I think that was from the promo shoots for <em>Flesh and Blood,</em> which came out about six months before his Birth.”</p>
<p>        “Wait, <em>Flesh and Blood…”</em> The taller of the teens looked up at him with a critical eye before his jaw dropped. “Holy fuckin’ shit!”</p>
<p>        “Yeah, they’re totally <em>not</em> Poison fans, Dad,” Zak laughed.</p>
<p>        “Gee, I couldn’t tell at all, son,” he said, unable to help a laugh of his own.</p>
<p>        “I can’t believe Mom was actually married to Poison’s bassist at one point,” the taller teen–whom he assumed was Gunnar–breathed.</p>
<p>        “For eleven Years,” Rob told him. “We were together for thirteen, though.”</p>
<p>        “So, what madeja break up?” he queried curiously.</p>
<p>        “The short version? Caught her in bed with my best friend when I got home from a tour that Ended early,” the Silver Fox answered. “There was a lotta shit leading up to that, though, ’cuz being with a recording artist ain’t easy, and my drinking back then didn’t help.”</p>
<p>        Both of the twins winced sympathetically as they looked at Mishy.</p>
<p>        “Well, he’s not wrong, boys,” she admitted. “The stress of hardly ever getting to see him till about 1995 and him being drunk most of the Time when I <em>did</em> get to see him made me make some stupid choices.”</p>
<p>        “Are y’all back together now or something?” Gunnar asked.</p>
<p>        Cocking his head like a curious puppy, Rob thought about that question for a moment before he actually answered. If he were completely honest, neither of them’d really thought about such a thing in the past few months since it wasn’t like they’d been planning on having even a one-Night stand. But if he were to answer that question at this very moment, he’d have to say that no, they weren’t back together–they were more of exes-with-benefits than anything else.</p>
<p>        His ex-wife was quick to agree with that assessment when he voiced his Thoughts, ’cuz she hadn’t really thought about how to label them, either. After all, she’d been more focused on their son when she’d first flown out to Florida due to his Health. From there, she’d been more focused on her divorce, even when it’d seemed like she only had sex on the brain.</p>
<p>        “And yes, that means that <em>your</em> dad and I aren’t married anymore,” Mishy told them. “The divorce was finalized today, right before we all came here.”</p>
<p>        “Betcha that shiner’d something to do with it,” Gunnar dead-panned, looking at his twin.</p>
<p>        “Given that he hit her right in front of the judge…” The Silver Fox snorted. “If I wouldn’t have gotten myself hauled off again, I’d have rearranged his face so bad, he’d need a new licenseta be identified with.”</p>
<p>        “Dad’s the one who raised me not to start anything, rather than Ending it,” Zak said when both boys looked surprised.</p>
<p>        “What can I say? Times were different when I was growing up, and my own mama raised me not to hit anyone–especially a woman–without it being warranted,” he told them with a shrug.</p>
<p>        “Even though Mom’s your ex-wife?” Grayson queried.</p>
<p>        “Look, like I’ve said several Times lately–love or hate her, whether she’s my sister, my ex-wife, or whatever, I ain’t just gonna stand around and let her get the shit kicked outta her,” Rob answered. “My own brother’d kick <em>my</em> ass on my mom’s behalf, and that’s assuming my band mates–who were all raised similarly to me–didn’t get to me first.”</p>
<p>        “Hey, you’re assuming that <em>I</em> wouldn’t kick your ass for not standing up for a defenseless woman!” his son laughed.</p>
<p>        “Oh, no–I meant what’d happen <em>after you</em> unleashed on me, son,” the Silver Fox chuckled.</p>
<p>        “So, if Mom ain’t married to <em>our</em> dad anymore either, what’s gonna happen now?” the taller of the teens asked.</p>
<p>        Taking a deep breath, Mishy told them that she’d been awarded full custody since she’d legally adopted them. Much to her first ex-husband’s surprise, both boys’ eyes lit up almost like Christmas Trees when they heard that. He’d have thought they’d be upset by that, but even after learning what he did during the hearing, he still didn’t know everything.</p>
<p>        As it turned out, the reason their Natural mother’d lost custody of them was ’cuz she’d gotten hooked on drugs. That’d led to them being put in their father’s custody, which damn sure wouldn’t have happened, if the court’d known how abusive he was. But that’d also opened the door for their stepmother to adopt them, which made her their legal mother, even though they shared no blood. For that reason, as far as the court was concerned, she’d get full custody of them before either set of Natural grandparents would, if anything’d happened to their father.</p>
<p>        Neither Gunnar, nor Grayson was exactly thrilled to hear that they’d now be moving to Florida, though. They couldn’t exactly argue since they were still minors and the woman they considered their mother was Intent on moving back there, herself. But even though they couldn’t do shit about it till they turned eighteen, that didn’t mean that they’d to like it in the meantime. Making their opinion clear was fine by even the Silver Fox, though, ’cuz he’d much rather hear those opinions than not.</p>
<p>        “But why Florida, though?” Gunnar queried.</p>
<p>        “Well, one of the reasons the divorce went through is ’cuz I technically had an affair with Rob,” she sighed. “And ’cuz of those Fertility drugs I was on…”</p>
<p>        “Wait, you’re actually pregnant?” Grayson’s jaw dropped before his twin’s did.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, I’m pregnant with mine and Rob’s third child,” his ex-wife chuckled. “And I don’t think it’s fair to cut him outta this baby’s Life.”</p>
<p>        “Ya didn’t cut me outta Zak’s or Zoe’s before I got full custody,” Rob said. “No more than <em>I</em> cut <em>you</em> outta their Lives, even after then.”</p>
<p>        “Even if we don’t live together forever, it’ll be easier to make custody switch-offs, if we’re living in the same State,” she told them.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, I guess that’s true,” the taller of the twins agreed.</p>
<p>        “But wouldn’t it be easier for him to move here?” the shorter of them queried.</p>
<p>        “Actually, no.” He shook his head. “It might <em>seem</em> that way, but there’s a lotta shit that I keep private aside from when I take a shit, boys.”</p>
<p>        “Like what?” Grayson looked genuinely curious as he turned his attention to him.</p>
<p>        “Well, Mishy and I both own restaurants,” the Silver Fox explained. “Difference is, hers is an ass-hair away from going under due to all the shutdowns–mine’s still doing well enough that it can make a comeback once everything starts opening up again.”</p>
<p>        “He’s also got other business interests in his area that he’s not gonna just drop, if he doesn’t have to,” Mishy added.</p>
<p>        “Not unless I move to another State for sake of having a bigger house,” Rob chuckled. “Which I don’t plan to do, if I don’t have to, since ya know I prefer my <em>home</em> State.”</p>
<p>        “Too well I know it since we wound up moving back there shortly before we got married back in ’89,” his ex-wife laughed.</p>
<p>        “Now, if we wind up having to move to another State so there’s room for everybody, we’re obviously gonna get the opinions of everybody that’ll be living in my house,” he said, shooting a look at the twins. “That includes the two of y’all.”</p>
<p>        Surprised by that, neither of the twins could really think of anything even half-intelligent to say as a response. Finding out that they were about to move just over a thousand miles away was quite the surprise, but this was an even bigger one. They weren’t used to adults other than Mishy actually letting them have a say in anything, rather than just telling them what was gonna happen.</p>
<p>        Chuckling, the Silver Fox admitted that he could be a bit of a hard-ass when he wanted to–they could ask his own son, if they didn’t believe them. But he’d always been in a pretty fair guy overall, and he just didn’t have it in him to exclude them when he didn’t have to. Not only that, but Raven’d kick his ass for being unfair since she’d drilled that into his head even move over the course of the past fifteen Years or so.</p>
<p>        Given that it was gonna be a long drive back to Florida since they couldn’t exactly load more or less an entire house onto a plane, Rob said that it’d be a while before they actually headed back to Florida. They’d more than enough Time to bid their goodbyesta any friends in the area that they’d be leaving behind, so they didn’t have to worry about that. All they’d have to do was make sure their own belongings were packed up by the Time they were ready to start loading any moving trucks. He’d worry about helping his ex-wife with things like the living room, even the kitchen and office so they wouldn’t have to worry about it, themselves.</p>
<p>        With that much of a plan more or less nailed down, Gunnar and Grayson couldn’t really argue with them. Both boys knew that it could be a lot worse–they coulda been told to be ready to go within the next week, no chanceta say goodbye to their friends before they left. And they coulda been told that they wouldn’t get a say to any houses they moved to after arriving in Florida, either. Since things were going relatively smoothly, considering all the Changes being made, they weren’t willing to argue over something stupid since they didn’t wanna get in trouble.</p>
<p>        Heaving a sigh of relief as they both headed off to their bedrooms, Rob couldn’t help wondering just what he’d gotten himself into, but counting his Blessings that things were going so well, too.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I totally forgot to add a link for the house I'm using as Rob's in this story, but I blame that on being brain-dead, stupid-tired when I started uploading this story yestermorn. But I ain't making that mistake again, even if I <em>don't</em> go back and add that link.</p>
<p>Anywhore, here's the link for the house I'm using as Mishy's in this story for anyone who's curious about a visual.<br/>~Firefly</p>
<p>Link to Mishy's House–https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7119-Baxtershire-Dr-Dallas-TX-75230/26844881_zpid/?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Ten</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>November, 2020</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>        Orlando, Florida</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was nearly a month after the divorce hearing that left Mishy a single woman again before any of her family made it back East. Between having a lot to sort through and her Morn sickness ramping up quite a bit, which left her all but exhausted, she’d wanted to take her Time with packing up everything. Not only that, but she’d wanted to make sure the twins got plenty of Time to hang out with and say goodbye to their friends between all the packing.</p>
<p>        Once they were in Orlando, things were pretty cramped within the walls of her first ex-husband’s home. Being a more simple guy than he wasn’t, Rob hadn’t wanted a very big house for himself and their existing kids. The one he’d picked was good enough for just the three of them, what with it having four bedrooms, four full bathrooms, and clocking in at just under three thousand square feet.</p>
<p>        But with two additional bodies that needed Space, it just wasn’t quite big enough to cut it anymore, and that was immediately obvious. While Gunnar and Grayson were willing to share a room for a short while, they refused to do so for nearly two Years till they turned eighteen. At the same Time, the King of the Castle refused to give up his office, which also served as a home studio. He needed somewhere to work on payroll for his restaurant when he couldn’t make it into the actual establishment, not to mention somewhere he could play to his heart’s content. That left both boys crammed into what’d originally been Zak’s room, which’d been the guest room after he’d moved out.</p>
<p>        Early on the Morn prior to his birthday, Rob let out a yawn as he headed upstairs with his coffee mug. Always the early-riser just like when his band was in its infancy, he’d left his ex-wife abed since he knew she was even more exhausted than he was. The Sympathy sickness he was suffering from sometimes kept him up, but it wasn’t as bad as her Morn sickness. Not only that, but he wasn’t putting his Energy toward growing another human being like she was on top of that. Besides, he didn’t Intend to start slogging through real estate listings again quite this early since he was still half-asleep.</p>
<p>
  <em>        “Hey, man!”</em>
</p>
<p>        Chuckling as the video call he’d started finally connected, the Silver Fox waved at his laptop’s webcam as he sipped his coffee. “Morn, guys.”</p>
<p><em>        “Jeez, man</em>–<em>ya all right?”</em> This was asked by CC since it was group call with the blondes who made up his band.</p>
<p>        “Ah, just tired,” he answered. “Well, add a lil nauseousta that, but nothing I can’t handle.”</p>
<p><em>        “Nauseous?”</em> Even Rikki looked a bit confused. <em>“Got a bug going around out there or something?”</em></p>
<p>        “Not unless y’all count that damned <em>Godzilla Flu</em> still,” Rob answered. “Let’s just go with <em>or something</em> for now, ’cuz it’s not just <em>my</em> newsta share.”</p>
<p><em>        “Oh, this is gonna be good,”</em> the front man laughed.</p>
<p>        “Definitely not something even I was expecting,” the Silver Fox admitted.</p>
<p>        All three blondes cocked a brow curiously, each of them motioning for him to continue as they sipped their own coffee.</p>
<p>        “Well, rewinding to this Spring…” He took a deep breath that he let out in a sigh. “Zak was one of those who wound up with <em>Godzilla Flu.”</em></p>
<p><em>        “Oh, Jesus fuckin’ Christ,”</em> the drummer breathed.</p>
<p><em>        “He’s all right, ain’t he?”</em> CC queried, looking horrified.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, yeah–Zak pulled through with flying Colors, thank God,” Rob told them. “I mean, he was in bad shape for about a month–bad enough to be on Life support for a week–but if y’all saw him now, you’d never know it.”</p>
<p><em>        “Well, that’s a damn good thing,”</em> Bret mused. <em>“I can’t imagine what it was like, having to see him like that, though.”</em></p>
<p>        “It wasn’t easy, that’s for damn sure,” the Silver Fox admitted. “Hell, y’all know how lil I wanted to do with Mishy, and I even broke down and called <em>her,</em> it was so bad.”</p>
<p>        All three blondes winced before one’s lips curved into a smirk.</p>
<p><em>        “I think I just heard the word</em> wanted <em>instead of the word</em> want <em>there,”</em> Rikki chuckled. <em>“Why use the Past tense, dude?”</em></p>
<p>        Rob didn’t get a chanceta answer before he was interrupted by a knock at his office door, which he’d closed to avoid waking anyone else. Holding up a finger, he pushed himself up from his chair so he could go find out who’d just knocked before they got impatient. Somehow, he got the feeling that he already knew who it was, and if he was right, he was glad that he’d set up his office in such a way that he wouldn’t have to worry about using his body to block their view.</p>
<p>        Just as he’d suspected, a sleepy-eyed Mishy was waiting patiently with her own coffee mug in hand just outside the door. Careful to keep his volume down, he wasted no Time inquiring as to how she was feeling this Morn, which he always did first thing. It was no surprise that she was nauseous, and that just like the first two Times around, coffee settled her stomach better than Ginger ale did.</p>
<p>        Unable to help a chuckle, he leaned down to press a quick kissta her forehead since he didn’t dare put ideas in her head by actually kissing her–at least, outside a sexual encounter. Once he’d straightened to his full height again, he brought her up to speed on what he’d been doing since he felt she’d a right to know. Thankfully, his ex-wife nodded and said that she wasn’t pissed about him telling his band mates what’d happened that Spring. After all, she’d known he’d have to tell them eventually, whether it was before they left for the postponed tour he’d told her about or not.</p>
<p>        “We were just getting into the good stuff when ya knocked, though,” the Silver Fox chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Oh, really?” she giggled. “Am I to assume ya mean <em>us?”</em></p>
<p>        “Well, I haven’t actually told them any of <em>that</em> yet,” Rob admitted. “I was trying to figure out how to buy Time till ya got up since ya kinda deserve to be a part of it.”</p>
<p>        “Guess I helpedja dodge a bullet, huh?” his ex-wife queried with a sleepy grin.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, kinda,” he answered.</p>
<p>        “Then wave me over whenever you’re ready,” Mishy told him, making sure to move in sync with him so that she was hidden till the door was shut and she could lean back against it.</p>
<p>        Nodding, the Silver Fox Returned to his desk, where he settled once again.</p>
<p><em>        “Everything all right, man?”</em> Bret queried curiously.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, everything’s fine,” Rob answered, nodding as he grabbed his mug. “Now, where were we…?”</p>
<p><em>        “Something about your use of Past tense,”</em> the front man chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Oh, yeah–that’s right,” he snickered, pausing to sip his coffee. “Well, circumstances being what they were this Spring, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Mishy wound up out here in Florida for a while.”</p>
<p><em>        “Well, not really,”</em> the guitarist said. <em>“God knows I’d be pissed at Shannon, if we lived in two different States and she didn’t call me about</em> Vallon <em>catching this shit.”</em></p>
<p><em>        “Can’t say I feel any differently when it comesta Mel, Jude, and Lucy,”</em> the drummer agreed.</p>
<p><em>        “Ditto in regardsta Kristi and the girls,”</em> Bret chimed in.</p>
<p>        Nodding, the Silver Fox walked them through how he’d been keeping vigil at Zak’s bedside when his ex-wife’d arrived. None of them were the slightest bit surprised that they’d it out a bit when it came to whether it was right or wrong of him to give her a call, considering how former spouses usually got along after a divorce. In fact, they were proud of him for being able to at least be civil with her, considering <em>why</em> they’d wound up in divorce court in the first place. Their son being at the heart of that mess woulda been stressful enough, but when added to their Past–well, it was a recipe for Disaster, if they’d let their tempers get the better of them.</p>
<p>        Rob chuckled as he took another sip of his coffee, not bothering to try denying that they’d a very valid point there. Once he wasn’t at risk of choking or anything, he walked them through the aftermath of his son’s stint in the hospital, which was relatively quick. There wasn’t really much to tell, given that he’d pretty much been ordered to get some rest and stay hydrated, which was typical medical advice for just a run-of-the-mill cold.</p>
<p>        “Granted, those two weeks of quarantine were pure hell, as far as I’m concerned,” the Silver Fox admitted.</p>
<p><em>        “I’m sure,”</em> Rikki agreed. <em>“I mean, ya were pretty much taking care of Zak like he was an infant again and couldn’t leave your own house.”</em></p>
<p>        “Well, that ain’t the only reason,” he laughed. “Figured it’d be easier to just let Mishy stay with us since <em>she</em> was quarantined, too.”</p>
<p><em>        “How the fuck’re ya still sane, man?”</em> the drummer laughed.</p>
<p>        “Fuck if I know,” Rob answered with a laugh of his own. “’Cuz I shoulda lost my mind months ago, considering that that two-week quarantine’s basically turned into upward of <em>six months.”</em></p>
<p><em>        “Wait, what?”</em> Even CC’s jaw dropped in shock.</p>
<p><em>        “She’s</em> still <em>living with ya?”</em> Bret queried, his eyes just as wide as the other blondes’ eyes.</p>
<p>        “She pretty much got trapped here ’cuz of all the damned shutdowns,” he answered, shrugging nonchalantly. “Next thing I know, she was asking to borrow my laptop so she could file for divorce.”</p>
<p><em>        “Are ya fuckin’ serious?”</em> the front man asked.</p>
<p>        “As a heart attack, man,” the Silver Fox chuckled. “Just like I am when I say I damn near flipped a lid ’cuz she crawled into bed with me when she got cold one Night.”</p>
<p>        Not even the guitarist could help cracking up, even though they were even more curious now.</p>
<p><em>        “So, did she actually file for divorce?”</em> Rikki queried once they’d Calmed down.</p>
<p>        “Oh, she more than filed for divorce–although, I’m <em>still</em> not sure whether she used my laptop to do it or not,” Rob answered.</p>
<p>        “Nah, I wound up getting mine to work so I could use it instead.”</p>
<p>        He barely bit back gut-splitting laughter as she finally joined him, much to the guys’ shock–especially when he actually <em>let</em> her settle in his lap.</p>
<p>        “Been quite a while, boys,” Mishy chuckled, wiggling slightly till her hips were nestled between his thighs comfortably as he wrapped an arm around her waist.</p>
<p><em>        “No fuckin’ shit, Mishy,”</em> Bret laughed, finally getting his brain back in gear. <em>“How long’s it been again</em>–<em>something like twenty Years?”</em></p>
<p>        “Nineteen, as of this Summer,” she answered. “But close enough to twenty to call it Grace, if ya ask me.”</p>
<p>        All three blondes nodded their agreement, Rikki finally voicing what was on all their minds since they remembered how their marriage’d Ended. They were not only shocked to see her in their friend’s house, but that he was actually letting her sit in his lap. It almost seemed like they were back together after quite the extended break from each other, but none of them wanted to make assumptions.</p>
<p>        Grinning as she leaned back against the Silver Fox’s torso, she denied them being officially back together. Like they’d told the twins just a few weeks ago, they were really nothing more than exes-with-benefits at this point, and they were happy enough with that. After all, taking things as far as they could once hadn’t exactly worked out, and they weren’t too sure they wanted to tempt Fate with that a second Time. Not only that, but she was so fresh outta her second divorce that she wouldn’t have been thinking about marriage again this soon, even if <em>he</em> had been.</p>
<p>        “Besides, things’re already complicated enough,” his ex-wife sighed.</p>
<p><em>        “Well, I’m sure,”</em> Rikki said sympathetically. <em>“From the looks of things, you’re crashing with your first ex-husband while you’re getting back on your feet.”</em></p>
<p>        “Oh, it’s not just that,” Mishy told them. “Long story short, the <em>second</em> ex-husband talked me into going on Fertility drugsta stave off menopause so we’d have a fighting chance at having a baby together.”</p>
<p><em>        “Somehow, I don’t get a good feeling from that,”</em> CC mused.</p>
<p>        “We’ll get into that when she’s not in the room, guys,” Rob interjected as gently as he could. “We’d both rather she keep the stress levels down right now, and having to relive that shit ain’t gonna achieve that End.”</p>
<p><em>        “Fair enough,”</em> the guitarist agreed with a nod. <em>“But whyddaya want her to keep the stress levels down?”</em></p>
<p>        “Well, this is the part that’s gonna affect even the three of y’all,” he answered. “Due to her being on those drugs…”</p>
<p><em>        “Holy shit.”</em> Bret’s eyes widened as it clicked for him. <em>“You’re pregnant, aren’tcha?”</em></p>
<p>        “Three months, as of next week,” she answered, nodding. “I’m already in the high-risk category, just ’cuz of my age.”</p>
<p><em>        “I seem to recall ya being a few Years younger than Bobby,”</em> the front man said with a nod of his own.</p>
<p>        “I just turned fifty-two not long after I got pregnant,” Mishy chuckled. “Not that I look it any more than Rob looks like he’s pushing sixty, aside from the gray hair.”</p>
<p>        “’Cuz I got tired of fighting to keep it dyed when I was forty-five,” he retorted, sticking his tongue out at her like a petulant child.</p>
<p><em>        “Same age that he actually grew the ballsta wear his glasses onstage, too,”</em> Rikki laughed.</p>
<p>        “Hey, at least I’m willing to admit that I’m an old, lingering fart,” the Silver Fox shot back. “The rest of y’all try to deny it, even though you’d be just as gray as me without hair dye andja can’t see six feet in front of ya without glasses or contacts!”</p>
<p><em>        “Hey, I’ma Natural blonde!”</em> CC cackled.</p>
<p>        Once they’d all settled down, Rob was quick to get the conversation back on track so he could finish filling his band mates in. As far as he knew, they’d conceived this child sometime around early-August, considering she’d told him about a month later. Judging by the ultrasound pictures she’d shown him that Day, he’d guess that she’d been somewhere around four weeks along since he obviously wasn’t an OB/GYN by trade.</p>
<p>        Mishy was quick to nod, saying that the OB/GYN she’d gone to see guessed she’d been four or five weeks then, which was why she’d said that she’d be three months as of the following week. That meant that she’d a due date for sometime in early-May of the following Year, but exactly when the baby’d arrive was anyone’s guess. After all, babies were known for coming up to two weeks early, and even as late as two weeks <em>after</em> their due dates. Being of advanced age, she might go into labor a lil early ’cuz her body simply couldn’t support a pregnancy for as long, if they wanted everyone to remain perfectly healthy.</p>
<p>        A serious look settled over the Silver Fox’s face as he looked at his laptop screen, which was as closeta looking the blondes in the eye as he could get. He made no bones about how he Intended to be there for her entire labor, just like he’d been when she’d delivered their daughter in 1997. The fact that their postponed tour wasn’t supposed to kick off till June meant that he was free to do that, which was only right of him. But therein lay a problem that he wanted to address sooner, rather than waiting around till it was too late to do so.</p>
<p>        “I think it’d be a good idea to talk to Eric about filling in for me,” Rob told them.</p>
<p>        “Wait, you’re not talking about your former best friend, are ya?” his ex-wife queried, turning a curious look on him.</p>
<p><em>        “No, he means Eric Brittingham from Cinderella,”</em> Bret answered with a laugh. <em>“He joined my solo band since we’ve always gotten along so well.”</em></p>
<p>        “Ah, I gotcha now,” she said, nodding.</p>
<p><em>        “It could work out,”</em> Rikki mused. <em>“I mean, even if ya still come out on the road and he’s just on standby, just in case…”</em></p>
<p>        “That’s pretty much what I was getting at,” he chuckled. “I mean, I <em>wanna</em> go–I’m all but dying to get back out on the road. But I’m no doubt gonna be exhausted from having a newborn again, and I know my limits all too well.”</p>
<p><em>        “God only knows that tour’s exhausting on its own,”</em> CC laughed. <em>“And I remember what it was like to hit the road right after having a kid.”</em></p>
<p>        Mishy couldn’t help her confusion, as evidenced by the look on her face, but she didn’t actually say anything.</p>
<p><em>        “My son, Vallon, was born in March of ’07,”</em> he explained, a proud grin overtaking his features.</p>
<p><em>        “My kids</em>–<em>Jude and Lucy</em>–<em>were born in July of ’09 and March of 2013, respectively,”</em> the drummer chuckled.</p>
<p>        “All right, that makes more sense now,” she laughed. “Wasn’t around then, so I wasn’t aware of that.”</p>
<p>        “Yeah, sorry I didn’t fill ya in on that sooner,” the Silver Fox said. “We don’t talk about each others’ kids without their respective parent knowing unless it’s <em>to</em> each other.”</p>
<p>        “Hey, I’m not knocking it,” Mishy told him. “I’m just saying that the last one I remember having any kids before we split up was Bret.”</p>
<p>        Unable to help a proud grin of his own, said front man confirmed that he’d a daughter in May of 2000, which’d been when he’d finally started to understand his bassist’s protective, paternal bent. But in addition to that baby girl–Raine–he’d a second daughter fifteen Days shy of five Years later in May of 2005. He was a lil more open about being a father than Rob was, but he still worried about their Health and safety, all the same.</p>
<p>        Rikki and CC both agreed that they’d never truly understood his mindset when it came to Zak and Zoe till they’d kids of their own. The drummer got his mindset a lil better since he’d one of each gender that were roughly as far apart, just like their bassist did. But even still, regardless of how many kids they had and what combination of genders, it’d Changed them irrevocably.</p>
<p><em>        “I guess now what I wanna know is whether you’re gonna be living with him long-term or not,”</em> Bret said, a curiously thoughtful look on his face.</p>
<p><em>        “Yeah, ’cuz I’d be lying, if I said thatcha being pregnant with his kid again wasn’t already quite the surprise,”</em> the drummer agreed.</p>
<p>        “For the foreseeable Future, at least,” his ex-wife answered. “I mean, I’ve been living with him since March, for all Intents and purposes.”</p>
<p>        “And being fresh outta a divorce, not to mention still working on selling her house and the restaurant she owned that went under…” Rob trailed off.</p>
<p><em>        “Well, I can’t say that I blame ya there,”</em> CC said. <em>“Prolly better to keep staying with him till ya at least get those sales made, if nothing else.”</em></p>
<p>        “That’s pretty much what we were thinking,” he admitted. “If we’re still getting along by then and find a place big enough for everybody, it might not Change.”</p>
<p><em>        “Wait, who’s</em> everybody?” the front man queried.</p>
<p>        “I legally adopted my stepsons when their Natural mother lost custody,” Mishy laughed. “And now that my second husband–their father–is in jail…”</p>
<p><em>        “Ah, I gotcha.”</em> He nodded as he raised his mug again. <em>“I’ve been to Bobby’s house enough to know that it’d work, if it were just you moving in with him, but with two more bodies…”</em></p>
<p>        “And teenagers that don’t wanna share Space for <em>too</em> long, even though they’re twins, at that,” the Silver Fox chuckled.</p>
<p><em>        “Wait, seriously?”</em> Rikki queried with a laugh of his own.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, double the testosterone-broiled brainsta have to deal with now, but hey–I’m up for the challenge,” Rob answered, his grin turning somewhat mischievous.</p>
<p><em>        “WhyddaI see repeats of Zak on a tour bus happening already?”</em> the guitarist snickered.</p>
<p>        “’Cuz it’ll no doubt happen at some point,” he laughed, turning to look toward the pocket doors that opened to the faux balcony overlooking the great room. “Excuse me for a sec, y’all–I’m apparently about to have to unleash the daddy in me.”</p>
<p><em>        “Oh, boy</em>–<em>this is gonna be good,”</em> Bret chuckled as he made his ex-wife let him up so he could head over to said pocket doors.</p>
<p>        “Gunnar–Grayson! Knock it off down there!” he snapped, bracing his hands on the guard rail after opening those doors. “’Cuz so help me God, if I’ve to come down there and break up a fight about whose dick’s bigger, I’ma make y’all hand-scrub the skid marks outta my drawers!”</p>
<p>        “For the Love of God, don’t make him come down here!” Zak cackled, sounding like he was hiding in the kitchen. “He’ll get the rest of the guys in on it, too–and they’ll all <em>purposely</em> shit themselves, just to make it worse!”</p>
<p>        By this point, the trio of blondes who were listening in were practically dying as they howled with laughter, poor CC cracking up so hard that he fell outta his chair. Mishy looked torn between utter shock at his threat, but like she wanted to laugh just as hard as his band mates were. He’d admitted that he’d some pretty Creative punishments, but he hadn’t actually told her what any of them were, so she hadn’t known what to expect.</p>
<p>        Unable to help a laugh of his own as he closed those doors and turned to rejoin the group, Rob grinned at his ex-wife. He didn’t even wait for her to ask if he was being serious or not to explain what’d once caused him to cook up that punishment. It was fairly typical of a teenage boy, but said boy’d long learned his lesson by being saddled with that very same punishment.</p>
<p>        On one of the Summer tours he’d taken their kids on after their divorce, Zak’d done something to get himself in trouble. He seemed to recall it being a combination of damn near making them late in taking off to their next venue combined with back-talking him and not cleaning the bus as his punishment. Since he’d apparently given himself a case of the wicked shits with something that’d disagreed with him, he’d threatened to make him hand-wash his drawers when he shit himself. Their son’d thought he was kidding, but he’d quickly been proven wrong when he’d followed through with his punishment.</p>
<p><em>        “The rest of us were feeling just as rotten,”</em> Rikki recalled with a laugh.</p>
<p><em>        “Yeah, four guys with torn-up stomachs fighting over the same linen closet of a bathroom don’t mix,”</em> the front man agreed.</p>
<p><em>        “Hell, even</em> I <em>thought Bobby was kidding at first,”</em> CC chuckled. <em>“But we found out just as quick as Zak that he wasn’t.”</em></p>
<p>        “As I recall, it was Rikki that was hogging the bathroom when the need to go hit that Time,” the Silver Fox said. “And since we were rolling, it wasn’t like I could try darting into the venue and <em>hope</em> I made it in Time.”</p>
<p><em>        “Yeah, guilty on that count,”</em> the drummer admitted. <em>“But it was funny when he tried back-talking ya on that one, andja told him to wash the rest of our drawers along with yours.”</em></p>
<p><em>        “And oh, God</em>–<em>they were fuckin’ nasty,”</em> Bret laughed. <em>“Not that we could help it, but still…”</em></p>
<p>        “Well, now I know why he quit trying to get outta doing chores when he wound up in Texas with me,” Mishy chuckled.</p>
<p><em>        “Prolly thoughtcha were gonna make him scrub skid marks</em> and <em>period stains outta</em> your <em>drawers,”</em> the guitarist said, grinning.</p>
<p>        “I wouldn’t have done that, ’cuz there’s just something weird about my son handling my unmentionables,” she retorted. “But I can’t deny that letting him <em>think</em> that’s a pretty good punishment, in and of itself.”</p>
<p><em>        “Now, imagine actually</em> making <em>him do it,”</em> CC snickered. <em>“God, we get into some crazy shit on the road, but it’s all worth it when we get to laugh about the good Times like this.”</em></p>
<p>        Not even Rob could deny that the shortest blonde in his band had a point with that, which brought back to mind a song he hadn’t listened to in decades. The lyric that came to mind first and foremost was <em>Hell, we had some good Times then,</em> the next one being <em>But now, I gotta tell ya how we left some storiesta tell</em>. Even some of the worst stories made them laugh now as they recalled them, ’cuz in hindsight, a lotta them were even funnier than they’d originally been.</p>
<p>        After another few minutes spent chatting with his friends, he said that it was prolly a good idea for him to get offline for the moment. He hadn’t eaten yet since he’d woken up a lil on the nauseous side again, so he was starting to get hungry. That made him think the same was prolly true for his ex-wife, who definitely couldn’t go without food due to her pregnancy.</p>
<p>        Rikki agreed that it was best to go feed the mama-to-be before she turned into a Tasmanian devil on them, or something equally bad. Besides, the Silver Fox was known for getting pretty evil when he got hungry enough, which wouldn’t End well, if he was forced to discipline the teenagers now living in his house. They all knew that once he reached the point of being <em>hangry,</em> any punishment he’d to dish out’d wind up being ten Times worse than normal due to his already-bad mood. None of them wanted to see the twins wind up with a worse punishment than they’d normally get, if they fucked up once he reached that point.</p>
<p>        Before they Ended their video call, Bret assured him that he’d talk to Eric about getting him at least on standby when their tour kicked off. They’d wait and see what happened before they planned on the other veteran bassist totally replacing him on the <em>Stadium Tour</em> next Summer. After all, they didn’t wanna take away his chanceta hit the road entirely, if he turned out to be able to handle that after having a new baby again. Luckily, that was a good enough compromise for now, and he quickly nodded his agreement before bidding his goodbyes.</p>
<p>        With his call Ended, Rob waited till his ex-wife roseta let him up again, then grabbed his mug and roseta follow her downstairs. He hadn’t been kidding about finally being hungry, but he also wanted to see what kinda trouble the boys’d caused downstairs. The continued search for a new house could wait till after his stomach and Curiosity were satisfied, which Mishy more than agreed with.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Eleven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Later that afternoon, Rob was quite literally up to his elbows in various ingredients as he’d quite a bit of fun with making a mess of his kitchen. Considering how nauseous he and especially his ex-wife’d been for the last couple weeks, he was working on a project while he actually felt up to doing it. He loved to cook, as evidenced by his owning a restaurant, and figured he’d come up with a way to appease their taste buds without setting off their iffy stomachs. At least if he did nothing else, he gave the aforementioned woman a good laugh since he prolly wound up covered with just as much as what wound up in his mixing bowls.</p>
<p>        Even though he most certainly <em>did</em> hear his mudroom door open, he didn’t bother glancing up from the latest measurement he was making. There were very few folks who didn’t live here at one point or another–or who at least visited frequently–who even knew where he lived, let alone had keys. He wasn’t worried in the slightest, ’cuz he figured that outta all the folks he knew, it was most likely to be the woman he’d claimed as his best friend.</p>
<p>        Sure enough, seconds after hearing the mudroom door close again, Raven appeared through the doorway that led into the kitchen. Mishy’d been wondering why on Earth her ex-husband hadn’t reacted in the slightest, ’cuz she was pretty sure that–even <em>with</em> his career–he wasn’t quite <em>that</em> deaf yet. He’d to’ve heard even that soft Sound loud and clear, considering that the house was fairly quite at the moment. Realizing that it was his best friend made her relax where she sat on a bar stool to watch him, though, ’cuz of course he wouldn’t react to someone he trusted entering his home.</p>
<p>        “Holy flour bombs, Batman!” the brunette woman laughed. “Just get the itch again, or have ya got a reason for trying to blow your kitchen up for the <em>nth</em> Time?”</p>
<p>        “Ah, a lil bit of both,” Rob chuckled as he turned toward her.</p>
<p>        “Oh–and just how’s <em>that</em> possible?” she queried, apparently not bothered by him being covered in hell-only-knew what as he grabbed her for a quick hug.</p>
<p>        “Hey, ya know me–I’ve cooking oil, coffee, and various types of alcohol in my veins, not blood!” the Silver Fox laughed.</p>
<p>        “I should hope that alcohol’s used in your cooking these Days,” Mishy dead-panned.</p>
<p>        “Unless I’m cooking or dumping it out, I ain’t bothered touching alcohol in upwards of twenty Years,” he told her proudly. “And I don’t count cooking as being a bad thing since the heat burns the alcohol off.”</p>
<p>        “Unless you’re making my <em>Witch’s Brew,”</em> Raven snickered.</p>
<p>        “Oh, fuck me wide open, sideways, nekkid, and runnin’, girl!” Rob laughed. “I think I got rotted just from <em>sniffing</em> that shit!”</p>
<p>        The brunette woman simply grinned mischievously as the kids started wandering into the family room, no doubt ’cuz they’d heard voices.</p>
<p>        “It’s a homemade concoction that I can tailor to the Seasons,” she explained, considering the look Mishy was shooting her. “The base’s Apple cider, and what kinda liquor I use in it’s based on the Season we’re in when I make it.”</p>
<p>        “Like right now, it’s the original version of her <em>Witch’s Brew</em> that’d be made,” Rob said. “Think Apple, Cinnamon, Maple–things along those lines.”</p>
<p>        “That actually sounds pretty good,” his ex-wife mused.</p>
<p>        “Problem is, there’s enough liquor in it to knock him on his ass, even back when he was a heavyweight drinker,” Raven snickered. “I warned him before he ever took a whiff that if he’d even a spoonful as a taste-test, it was at his own peril since I knew about his history.”</p>
<p>        “I’m telling ya, Mish–just the <em>scent</em> nearly knocked me on my ass,” the Silver Fox chuckled, pretending not to see the amazed looks being shot at him by the twins.</p>
<p>        Said blonde couldn’t help a giggle at the mere Thought of just the <em>scent</em> of something knocking him on his ass like he was totally wasted. After all, she’d seen him in such a state plenty of Times from when they’d first started dating in early-1987 up to when he’d finally gone through rehab. In the earliest Years, he hadn’t exactly cared how drunk he got around her, but he’d at least <em>tried</em> to keep himself on a bit more of a leash once their son was born.</p>
<p>        But even as his ex-wife Calmed her giggles, Rob wasn’t surprised that his best friend proved just how astute she was. While she mighta <em>seemed</em> like she hadn’t, she’d obviously noticed the extra bodies she didn’t recognize that’d meandered in. No doubt she was curious about who they were and trying to figure out how to ask without seeming <em>too</em> rude, which was oft a problem with her.</p>
<p>        Raven wasn’t the least bit surprised to hear about Mishy’s second divorce getting finalized, nor that she’d legally adopted her stepsons. If anything surprised her, it was hearing that their father was now pulling Time in the slammer, which’d all but automatically given her full custody. But she knew her best friend well–they might not be <em>his</em> kids, but he’d a big enough heart to still treat them as such. He wouldn’t let them do without or feel excluded, if he could help it, just ’cuz their father was abusive and their mother was an idiot.</p>
<p>        “Rob’s just not like that,” she chuckled when they looked amazed upon her voicing that Thought.</p>
<p>        “Part of me kinda wantsta ask why not, but another part doesn’t wanna push his buttons,” Grayson mused.</p>
<p>        “Not after that threat this Morn, that is,” his twin agreed.</p>
<p>        “Oh, had to bust out the <em>hand-scrubbing skid-marked drawers</em> punishment?” the brunette woman snickered.</p>
<p>        “Dunno what they hell they were <em>arguing</em> about, but I heard it up in my office,” Rob answered. “Ya know me–I don’t care whether it’s true or not, but as long as <em>I’m</em> King of the Castle, <em>my</em> dick’s the biggest.”</p>
<p>        “I’ve known that all too well for the last fifteen Years,” she agreed.</p>
<p>        “I think he proved his point while giving the guys a good laugh,” Mishy chuckled. “I mean, <em>I</em> wanted to laugh, too, but I was kinda shocked at the same Time.”</p>
<p>        “Funny thing is, he’s done that to Zak plenty of Times,” Raven told her. “First Time was on tour, but if Zak started showing his ass at home, too…”</p>
<p>        “Oh, he got it worse, if I’d to bust out that punishment at home,” the Silver Fox laughed. “I’d make him clean the grout lines in the flagstone with toothpicks on top of it.”</p>
<p>        His ex-wife couldn’t help cracking up at that Thought, knowing it woulda hurt after a while, if he’d stayed on his knees the whole Time.</p>
<p>        “But as for why I ain’t excluding anyone, even if they’re <em>not</em> my flesh and blood…” He turned a bit of a hard look on the twins. “My dad abandoned me and my older siblings before I was born.”</p>
<p>        Even Gunnar’s eyes widened at hearing that.</p>
<p>        “To this Day, I’ve never met him, dunno whether he’s still alive or if he’s already dead–nothing,” Rob continued. “My own stepdad didn’t make any of us feel excluded growing up, and I’ll be damned, if I don’t follow <em>his</em> example instead of in my biological dad’s footsteps.”</p>
<p>        “Which means that unless ya royally fuck up, he’s not gonna care about whether you’re <em>his</em> kids or not,” the brunette woman said. “He’s gonna care more about your well-being and whether ya show the Respect he and Mishy deserve.”</p>
<p>        “Especially since we <em>coulda</em> sentcha to an orphanage instead of her adopting ya and me taking <em>all</em> of ya in when I didn’t have to,” he agreed.</p>
<p>        Both teens admitted that he damn well had a point as Raven jumped into help him finish up what he was working on, much to the blonde woman’s surprise. Said blonde coulda very well sent them to live with either set of their grandparents, as far as a best-case scenario went. Otherwise, they’d have most definitely wound up in the system for the next couple Years till their eighteenth birthday. After that, it was likely that they’d have gotten thrown out with a simple <em>Good Luck, boys,</em> everyone pretty much forgetting about them from that point forward.</p>
<p>        What surprised them even further, though, was when the brunette woman turned her attention to her friend. In being as astute as she was, she knew without question that–if he let his ex-wife and her stepsons continue living with him–this house was simply too small without kicking Zoe out. No doubt he’d be looking for a new house soon, if he wasn’t already doing that without anyone knowing.</p>
<p>        Rob chuckled as he admitted that he’d already been slogging through real estate listings online when he felt well enough. For the moment, the twins were content with sharing a room since they knew they could have things a lot worse, but they weren’t willing to do so forever. He just hadn’t found anything that he thought was suitable to the entire family, especially considering that said family was gonna be growing by another member sooner than it wouldn’t.</p>
<p>        “I don’t really <em>wanna</em> leave Florida, but I’ll do it, if I have to,” he sighed.</p>
<p>        “Especially if ya pretty much got a house dropped in your lap, right?” Raven queried with a grin.</p>
<p>        Not quite sure what she was getting at, the Silver Fox cocked a brow as she passed out plates while he was washing up.</p>
<p>        “Never mentioned it, but I’ve a house in North Carolina,” she laughed.</p>
<p>        “That actually surprises me, and I’ve learned to expect the unexpected with you,” Rob mused.</p>
<p>        “Eh, it was inherited from my adoptive parents,” the brunette woman explained. “Brand-new build they never got to move into before they died in a car crash.”</p>
<p>        “Wait, I thoughtcha said that your parents were Finnish and Italian, respectively,” Mishy said.</p>
<p>        “I did, but remember how I said I was born here in the States?” Raven queried.</p>
<p>        The blonde’s eyes widened as she realized that she musta been given up for adoption and later reconnected with her Birth parents.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m getting at,” she chuckled, reading those Thoughts loud and clear in her eyes. “Don’t ask me why they thought they needed a five-bed house, but that’s what my adoptive parents built as a Dream house.”</p>
<p>        “Seriously–five beds?” Even her best friend’s jaw dropped. “Dare I ask how many baths?”</p>
<p>        “Four full baths, just like this house,” Raven answered. “Two downstairs–one being the master bath–and two more upstairs.”</p>
<p>        Looking at Mishy, he couldn’t stop his brows from rising almost to his ridiculously high hairline. “That could actually work.”</p>
<p>        “Yeah, it really could,” the blonde woman agreed, nodding. “Zak’d be stuck on the couch, if the boys didn’t share so he’d have his own room while looking for his own place nearby, though.”</p>
<p>        Chuckling as he looked back to his best friend, Rob knew he was gonna have to explain exactly what was going on sooner, rather than later. She’d obviously already figured out that he was letting his ex-wife and more or less adopted boys live with him, but even <em>she</em> hadn’t figured out all of it. Then again, said ex-wife was pretty snazzy about how she dressed, and it was also pretty easy to hide the Beginnings of a baby bump since she wasn’t very far along.</p>
<p>        The brunette woman’s eyes widened when they broke the news of Mishy’s pregnancy to her, considering that it was such an expected event. It took her a few moments and a quick shake of her head, but she got her brain back in gear faster than even Bret’d done that Morn. Without having to ask, she understood exactly what they were getting at in terms of Zak having his own room or not.</p>
<p>        As they moved to the dining room so there was room for everybody, Raven was quick to fill them in on the specs of the house she was talking about. The master suite and one of the other bedrooms were on the first story, which she knew would suit her friend well. He’d what they referred to as a <em>bum knee,</em> meaning that he didn’t like arguing with a staircase more than necessary. In fact, that was why he hated having his office on the second story of <em>this</em> house, and why he’d chosen to take the suite on the back side of the kitchen for himself. But with limited Space that he could use–especially with a door to close for privacy–he didn’t exactly have much choice right now.</p>
<p>        Luckily for the Silver Fox, there was a room that was technically supposed to be a formal living room on the first floor. Directly across from the formal dining room, it was currently staged as a home office since a lotta folks liked having that kinda thing these Days. It was more than big enough for him to set up a desk in any of the three corners that <em>didn’t</em> sport a doorway, then still had plenty of Space for him to set up an entire recording studio on top of it. She knew damn good and well he’d set up a practice area and that was it, but the Space for more than that was definitely available.</p>
<p>        “You’re seriously making me wanna see this place now,” Rob chuckled. “I just dunno that I wanna fly or drive up to North Carolina to view a house, then have to come back down here.”</p>
<p>        “Oh, I can do ya one better than that,” the brunette woman laughed.</p>
<p>        “Ya don’t say, now?” He cocked a brow as she pushed herself up from her seat and headed over to the stairs.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, ’cuz ya can tour the house <em>without</em> having to take a trip,” Raven answered. “Lemme grab your laptop since I didn’t bring mine, and I’ll show y’all what I mean.”</p>
<p>        “Ya know all my passwords and shit,” the Silver Fox told her.</p>
<p>        “Like the back of my hand!” she agreed with another laugh.</p>
<p>        “Ya seriously trust her with that kinda shit?” Gunnar queried, turning surprise-widened eyes on him.</p>
<p>        “Kid, I trust that woman with my Life,” Rob answered. “She’s even got what she needsta lock me outta my bank account, if she really wanted to.”</p>
<p>        “Only Time I’ve done any such thing was ’cuz I used <em>your</em> credit card to buy your birthday present the first Year we dated, and I didn’t wantcha finding out too soon by seeing the statement for that card,” the brunette woman said as she Returned with his laptop.</p>
<p>        “And once I found out <em>why</em> ya did that, I wasn’t the least bit pissed over it,” he laughed. “Especially since ya gave me the new password so I could change it back, if I really wanted to.”</p>
<p>        “I’ve never done that kinda shit without a similar or identical reason since, either,” Raven admitted, reclaiming her seat and settling his laptop on the table in front of her.</p>
<p>        Nodding his agreement, the Silver Fox waited for her to finish up whatever she was doing, which was when she turned the device around for them to see. Since the house she was talking about was actually on the market as the spoke, she’d simply pulled up the listing for it on Zillow. But in addition to that, she’d opened up the virtual tour that she’d decided to add to all the still-shots long before the <em>Godzilla Flu</em> outbreak.</p>
<p>        Considering the way said virtual tour was set up, it could be viewed in a few different ways, depending on what one wanted. First and foremost made it seem like they were actually <em>in</em> the house and looking around through the viewfinder of some kinda camera. Their second option was something called <em>dollhouse mode,</em> which basically allowed them to rotate, zoom in and out, and more or less flip a 3D version of the floor plan any way they wanted. Lastly was a 2D version of the floor plan that allowed them a Bird’s-eye view of the entirety of the first or second story all at once.</p>
<p>        Since the virtual tour opened up in the foyer just inside the front door, the first thing they saw was the dining room Raven’d been talking about to their right. To their left was a set of French doors, which led to that formal living room-turned-home office. Immediately in front of them was the family or great room, which sported a beautiful, stacked-Stone fireplace on its back wall.</p>
<p>        Over what she told them was the master bedroom door was one End of what looked more or less like a Bridge. Rob listened as she explained that that Bridge led to what’d most likely be Zoe’s room, which technically qualified as a sub-master. After all, it’d its own en suite, unlike the other three bedrooms on the other side of the house that were scattered between both stories. One of those remaining bedrooms was on the other side of the kitchen, one of the full bathrooms separating it from the laundry room, while the others were upstairs. Those remaining two bedrooms–which’d be the twins’ rooms–were separated by a bonus room over the garage, and the boys’d be sharing a bathroom.</p>
<p>        “Wait, a bonus room?” he queried, tearing his eyes away from his laptop screen to look at her.</p>
<p>        “Follow the Circles up the stairs,” the brunette woman told him, unable to help a grin.</p>
<p>        Nodding, Rob did as he was told, unable to help how impressed he was with how the family room was open to the ceiling on the second story, which sported a pair of skylights.</p>
<p>        “You’re looking at two doors that’re side-by-side, right?” she asked.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, now that I’ve rotated the view,” the Silver Fox answered.</p>
<p>        “Follow the Circles into the one on the right,” Raven told him.</p>
<p>        Doing as told, he more or less found himself in what coulda been another master suite, if it’d been framed properly for such a thing. “Holy extra Space, Batman!”</p>
<p>        “This room’s <em>huge,”</em> Mishy breathed, her eyes widening. “It could be a third master suite, if we wanted to sink money into reframing it.”</p>
<p>        “Hell, <em>this</em> could be my office on one side, a full studio on the other,” Rob said. “Then the boys could have the extra room downstairs as a game room or something–if I felt like fighting the stairs all the Time, that is.”</p>
<p>        “That was kinda what I was thinking,” his best friend chuckled. “Since ya don’t like fighting the stairs, though, the bonus room could be their game lounge.”</p>
<p>        “It’d definitely work for <em>not</em> giving me headaches since they turn that shit up pretty loud,” he laughed. “And depending on how the plumbing’s run, putting in a mini kitchen for them might be a possibility, too.”</p>
<p>        “Are ya shitting us?” the taller of the twins queried, his brother’s jaw dropping where he sat next to him.</p>
<p>        The Silver Fox glanced up from his laptop screen, unable to help a chuckle as he shot the boys a shit-eating grin. He made no promises about such a thing, ’cuz he’d actually remodeled a couple houses over the course of his Life. Rerouting ductwork and plumbing wasn’t cheap or easy, and he wasn’t doing such a thing, if he didn’t absolutely have to. But if such a thing wouldn’t be required, he might consider doing such a thing so they could at least keep drinks and snacks upstairs. They’d just be expected not to eat nothing but junk food, not to mention keep the Space clean–which included rinsing out cups and the like–so they wouldn’t wind up living in a roach motel.</p>
<p>        Continuing the virtual tour revealed that all but the master suite was big enough for at least a full-size bed, if they wanted to have nightstands on both sides of said beds. The fifth bedroom that was next to the laundry room and kitchen was actually the perfect size for a nursery, and a toddler later on down the road. But he was quick to admit that he was really liking that the master suite was big enough for at least a King-size bed, maybe even a California-King.</p>
<p>        Even Mishy laughed as she agreed that being able to get such a big bed in there’d most definitely come in handy. She remembered all too well how much he tended to move and groove in his sleep from when they were married. Having shared a bed with him for the last few months–at least, on the Nights that they got down and dirty–she’d been given a memory refresher on that, for sure. No doubt they’d need either a really big bed, or enough Spaceta put dual twin beds where most’d put that single, big bed like folks did in the early-twentieth Century.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, that’s definitely true,” Rob agreed. “I mean, we might be exes-with-benefits, for lack of a better way to put it, but at least our options’re open.”</p>
<p>        “Seriously.” His ex-wife grinned as she nodded. “Just ’cuz I’m pregnant with your baby again doesn’t mean it’s all Rainbows and Unicorns between us.”</p>
<p>        “Hey, I’m not saying that I <em>don’t</em> wanna share a bed with ya,” he told her. “But if we decide that’s what’s best since there’s obviously not enough room for everybody, if Zoe moves with us, at least we’ve our choice instead of being forced into something we don’t want.”</p>
<p>        “Which was the whole point in even mentioning this house,” Raven spoke up. “I mean, what the fuck am I gonna do with it besides sell it since I don’t have a family of my own and don’t Intend to?”</p>
<p>        “Ya really don’t want kids?” Grayson queried curiously.</p>
<p>        “Nope, ’cuz I barely like taking Responsibility for myself,” the brunette woman answered. “Kids’re too annoying and too much Responsibility for me, which’s part of why anything Romantic didn’t work out between Rob and I Years ago.”</p>
<p>        “I knew there was more to it than just his not being over me,” Mishy chuckled. “But I wasn’t gonna ask, ’cuz I figured one of you’d tell me when ya were ready.”</p>
<p>        “Well, that’s the basic gist of it,” she told her. “He wasn’t over you and I knew it, and I didn’t wanna have to help raise Zoe since Zak was nearly grown.”</p>
<p>        “Which she’d have been stuck doing, if things’d worked out between us,” Rob laughed. “But hey, I’ve a helluva best friend who’s always been there for me, and still comes through in unexpected ways when I need it the most.”</p>
<p>        “And that ain’t including giving ya a swift kick in the drawers when ya need it, either,” Raven added with a laugh of her own.</p>
<p>        Settling down so they could actually hear each other, she turned her attention to talking numbers beyond how many beds and baths there were. Considering the area it was in and some of the materials used in its construction–like all the hardwood that flowed through the first story and up the stairs–its listing price was a bit on the pricey side, but nothing her friend couldn’t handle. Just over half a million woulda easily translated to over a million, maybe even more than that, if it’d been down toward Miami or out in the So Cal area.</p>
<p>        Cocking his head as he thought about it, the Silver Fox admitted that that really wasn’t a bad price for such a house. Given that it even included a massive pool complete with a lazy River and a hot tub in what was designed to look like a boulder pile, it was more of a steal than a great deal. And God only knew that pool was really attractive to him since it already reminded him of Florida, as it was.</p>
<p>        Even his ex-wife agreed that it was definitely a steal of a house, considering their current and even Future needs. She certainly wasn’t gonna argue, whether she chipped in on its purchase or not, since it definitely suited even their style. And having a pool that gave him a taste of the State he loved above all others was just an added plus for all of them. The fact that it’d come in handy for the hot, humid Summers of North Carolina was an even bigger plus that made her even less willing to argue over it.</p>
<p>        The brunette woman grinned as she said that she wasn’t gonna force them into buying the place from her, but it was certainly an option. Just like Mishy, she knew that her best friend didn’t wanna leave his home State once again, but would if he had to. Like any decent, if not outstanding father, he’d his own wants and needs, but he always put his family above himself. If this turned out to be the house for them and selling it to him just happened to take it off her hands, it was a win-win all around. And judging by the look on his face, Rob was definitely considering it as a very valid option for himself and his family. It was written all over his face and the way his eyes sparkled as he no down imagined them all living there in the near Future.</p>
<p>        Laughing as he extended an arm to his side, he told her that making this offer when she did was prolly as good a birthday present as he could get this Year. The only thing he could think of that could top it was his family’s continued good Health and safety, which included a healthy delivery next Spring. Beyond that, his needs and Wishes were actually pretty few since he was a relatively simple guy compared to his band mates. As long as finding a bigger, more suitable house with a quickness and a healthy baby next Year were what he got, he could live without getting anything fancy or flashy. It was the simple things in Life that’d always brought him the most Joy, and that’d never Change about him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, so here's a link to the house I decided to use in this chapter. I know it's listed as being in Greensboro, but I'm Intent on pretending it's closer to a Town called Mebane (pronounced <em>Meh-ban)</em>. I'm also well aware that the actual listing <em>doesn't</em> have a pool–that was Inspired by the second and third links I'm including.<br/>~Firefly</p>
<p>Link to Raven's North Carolina House–https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4902-Plateau-Ct-Greensboro-NC-27455/5954565_zpid/</p>
<p>Link to Pool Inspiration–https://www.farleypooldesigns.com/pool-projects<br/>Link 2 to Pool Inspiration–https://www.farleypooldesigns.com/colleyville-lazy-river</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Twelve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next Morn, Rob’d somehow managed to sleep in well past six, which was a bit on the abnormal side for him in a couple different ways. Normally, he was such an early-riser that he was up with the Sun, even when he <em>didn’t</em> bother setting his alarm. People could almost set their own clocks by him, ’cuz his routine didn’t really Change that much unless he was on tour these Days.</p>
<p>        But the Sympathy sickness he’d been suffering from–just like during his ex-wife’s first two pregnancies–had been keeping him up quite a bit. If it didn’t keep him up late at Night, it usually woke him up pretty early in the Morns, even when he was exhausted. Not much beyond guzzling Pepto-Bismol could be done to help him, though, since it wasn’t bad enough for him to be hospitalized for it. Even still, it was pretty rare that he slept past six, and even rarer that he slept past seven–his sleeping till closer to eight in the Morn was pretty much unheard of unless he was touring.</p>
<p>        Considering that it was his birthday and she’d known he hadn’t been feeling good, Mishy hadn’t had the heart to wake him when her own Morn sickness’d woken her around six-thirty. To that End, she’d managed to make it to the bathroom near the dining room before she’d started spewing without waking him. Now that her stomach was settled relatively well, she’d an idea on how to wake him that he couldn’t possibly get mad at.</p>
<p>        The Silver Fox didn’t even notice when his bed shifted next to him, ’cuz he was sleeping better than he’d slept in months. Not even the covers shifting made him stir in the slightest, his breathing still just as deep and even as it’d been before. But that was exactly what his ex-wife wanted as she slowly wormed her way under said covers, a grin splitting her face. She fully Intended to take advantage of the fact that he was sprawled out on his back, one arm flung over his head while the other was draped over his still relatively-flat belly. Well, that and the fact that–once again, amazingly enough–he was already hard as a rock, even though he was still asleep. Getting it up damn near on command could be a bit of a struggle for most men his age, but it certainly wasn’t a problem for him.</p>
<p>        Keeping her movements slow and deliberate, she settled partially on her side so that she was stretched out between his legs. She kept her hips turned so that she looked like she was on her side from the waist down to avoid putting too much pressure on her belly. From the waist up, she appeared to be laying on her front, which was exactly what she’d Intended at the moment. That allowed her to get into the perfect position to wake her first ex-husband with something he wouldn’t have expected, as well as he knew her. After all, she wasn’t exactly fond of giving even a partial blow-job back when they were married, so it was rare for her to dish out such a thing.</p>
<p><em>        “Mmm,”</em> Rob hummed, starting to stir a bit as his subconscious registered the kitten licks she was giving him.</p>
<p>        Biting back her laughter, the blonde continued those kitten licks all over the head of his cock, which soon twitched in anticipation.</p>
<p>        He didn’t seem to notice what she was doing to him, or he simply thought it was part of whatever Dream he was having.</p>
<p>        “Time to <em>really</em> have some fun,” Mishy murmured, biting back her grin as she took a deep breath.</p>
<p><em>        “Oh!”</em> The Silver Fox jerked awake as he felt something he wasn’t accustomed to, his eyes flying open. “What the–”</p>
<p><em>        “Mmmm,”</em> she hummed, making him buck up instinctively as she took more of his length into her mouth.</p>
<p><em>        “Ohhhh, fuck,”</em> Rob groaned, his hand finding the back of her head through the covers of its own accord. “Jesus Christ, what a wake-up call.”</p>
<p>        His ex-wife couldn’t help laughing around his length, which only served to tease him.</p>
<p>        “Don’t tease me, woman,” he growled. “I don’t care whether it’s a blow-job or a fuckin’–I can’t take teasing right now.”</p>
<p>        “So I can tell,” Mishy laughed after pulling him outta her mouth. “But happy birthday, all the same.”</p>
<p>        “Won’t be till I get rid of this lil <em>problem,”</em> the Silver Fox chuckled. “Once that happens–well, we’ll see what happens afterward.”</p>
<p>        “Then I better get back to work,” she veritably purred.</p>
<p>        Rob couldn’t help another groan as he felt her Return to her previous ministrations, which was definitely a pleasant surprise. He knew how lil she liked dishing out blow-jobs, ’cuz she was one of those women who didn’t like the flavor of their End result. But he certainly wasn’t gonna try to stop her, if she was actually in the mood to dish one out, considering how rarely that happened. If anything, he’d just try to stop her before she made him blow his load in her mouth since he knew she didn’t like that.</p>
<p>        Even though he seemed to be getting laid pretty regularly, it didn’t take long to have him right at that brink. His ex-wife knew him well enough to know just how close enough without him having to tell her, though. In fact, she let go of him with a <em>pop</em> that served to make him gasp at the sudden lack of suction being applied to his throbbing member.</p>
<p>        Wearing a shit-eating grin as she crawled up the bed, Mishy moved to straddle him like she’d done the Morn after crawling into bed with him for warmth earlier that Year. Her movements Revealed that she was as nekkid as he was, which drew a groan from the depths of his torso. She’d fully Intended thista happen, though, which was why she’d stripped before ever crawling back into bed with him now. At least he was riled up enough to satisfy both of them, which was the thing that was more important to her right now.</p>
<p>        The Silver Fox let out a growl as his hands moved to gently grip her hips, his own already pressing up against her. Considering that she was already pregnant with his kid again and they were both critter-free, he wasn’t worried about using a rubber. What was the point, if they didn’t have anything they could give each other since she obviously couldn’t conceive again without giving Birth first? It just seemed like a colossal waste of Time, in his opinion, unless he needed to grab one for sake of extra lube–which didn’t seem to be an issue now. She was already so wet that he was able to slide through her folds with ease, which served to make her mewl, especially as his shaft rubbed up against her swollen, throbbing Love button.</p>
<p>        Careful not to hurt her, Rob was quick to use his strength and weight to his advantage so he could roll her onto her back. While he didn’t mind having a lover ride him and certainly liked taking a woman from behind, that just wasn’t what he wanted right now. His body demanded that he put his lover on her back, which was exactly what Nature’d Intended when it’d designed male and female bodies the way that it did. But she seemed more than pleased by that, her legs automatically rising to wrap around his waist once he’d lined himself up. Feeling her ankles cross at the small of his back as he gently pushed into her made him laugh, but he couldn’t deny that his entry felt great.</p>
<p><em>        “Ohhhh, God,”</em> Mishy whimpered, even her arms rising to wrap around him.</p>
<p>        “Didn’t we say as a band that we’d make ya see God, if ya gave us a try one Time?” he chuckled, holding still to give them both a moment to adjust.</p>
<p>        “Ya wise-ass!” she laughed, gently smacking his arm.</p>
<p>        “Jesus Christ, woman–don’t laugh right now,” the Silver Fox groaned, unable to help bucking further into her.</p>
<p>        “If it gets ya moving…” she trailed off with a grin.</p>
<p>        “Hey, I might be an old man now, but I still need a minute, if ya don’t want me blowing too soon,” Rob retorted.</p>
<p>        “Fuck, I doubt it’ll take much to get me off right now,” his ex-wife told him.</p>
<p><em>        “Mmm,</em> maybe we need to put that to the test,” he mused, readjusting his weight slightly.</p>
<p>        Mishy couldn’t help a loud moan as he pulled out, then quickly surged back in to fill her again.</p>
<p>        “God damn, you’re fuckin’ tight,” the Silver Fox groaned as he craned his neck to nip at hers.</p>
<p>        Her eyes rolled back in her head slightly as she gasped, one hand moving to the back of his head to keep him in place. Nobody’d ever been able to give her the kinda pleasure that this man could, and she was quick to lose herself in it. Aside from Silently begging him to torment certain spots, not a single coherent Thought crossed her mind as he found his rhythm.</p>
<p>        Rob let out a growl as he continued tormenting every hot spot he’d ever discovered about her, his memory surprisingly clear. Even though–till earlier this Year–it’d been over twenty Years since they’d slept together, he still remembered them all like it was yesterday. And he still remembered exactly what order to go in to give her the utmost pleasure on top of each spot’s exact location. It was a feat for the Ages, but one he could take great Pride in, even if he couldn’t take Pride in any other part of his Life besides his kids.</p>
<p>        It wasn’t long before his ex-wife was practically screaming beneath him, only starting a battle for Dominance with their tongues muffling her. At this point, she’d clamped down on him so hard that it was physically painful for both of them, but it was a good thing. He knew what that meant without having to ask, and that now was the perfect Time to make sure she was set off like a bottle rocket with a lit fuse on the fourth of July.</p>
<p>        A muffled shriek rang out as Mishy felt his calloused thumb gently press down on her clit as he started rubbing Circles on it. Her entire body tensed to the point that she looked like she was about to have a seizure as her most intimate muscles clamped down on him one final Time. Moments later, those same muscles pulsed around his shaft, bringing him even closer to his breaking point. From there, it was but a couple seconds before he surged in as deep as he could without hurting her, his own pleasured cry muffled by their bruising kiss. But his throbbing combined with his slight bucking as he rode out the pleasure only served to set off a second, somewhat weaker orgasm for her.</p>
<p>        “Oh…my God,” she gasped, panting harshly once they both went limp.</p>
<p>        “Fuck…me,” Rob groaned, his own breathing just as wild and ragged as hers.</p>
<p>        “I do believe…I just did,” his ex-wife giggled, eliciting another groan from him as he bucked with an aftershock.</p>
<p>        “Like right after we first met back in ’87,” he chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Well, I think we were a lil wilder back then,” Mishy laughed. “’Cuz I seem to remember our first Time together being in the ladies’ room at the Whisky.”</p>
<p>        “Fuck, I’d completely forgotten about that,” the Silver Fox admitted, his face heating up. “I blame all the drinking and other crazy shit I did back then, though.”</p>
<p>        “Doesn’t really matter, though,” she told him. “’Cuz whether you’re twenty-seven or <em>fifty</em>-seven, ya still got what it takes.”</p>
<p>        “Ain’t that the Truth?” Rob laughed. “You’d almost think I <em>was</em> still twenty-seven, what with the way we go at it now.”</p>
<p>        “Only thing that proves otherwise is the wrinkles, gray hair, and having a son about to turn thirty,” his ex-wife said.</p>
<p>        “Now, I feel old,” he told her, unable to suppress a shiver as he finally softened enough to slip outta her.</p>
<p>        “Andja think I <em>don’t?”</em> Mishy queried as he moved to flop down beside her.</p>
<p>        “Oh, I know ya do,” the Silver Fox chuckled. “I guess the good thing’s that we’re not alone in that.”</p>
<p>        “No more than we are in having such an unexpected baby on the way,” she mused, gently rubbing her belly.</p>
<p>        “Definitely not ever something I thought was gonna happen to me,” Rob admitted, his hand joining hers atop said small baby bump. “Having an unplanned baby’s one thing, ’cuz God knows that Zak wasn’t exactly planned–it’s an unexpected baby at our ages that’s more surprising than anything else.”</p>
<p>        Nodding her agreement, his ex-wife laid her hand over his as if to hold it in place so he couldn’t take it back. It’d been so long since she’d felt a New Life growing within her that she’d honestly thought it wasn’t gonna happen again. Such a thing actually happening–and with her first ex-husband, at that–was more of a shock than she could put into words, but she wouldn’t Change a thing.</p>
<p>        After taking a bit to fully catch their breath, the Silver Fox was the one to push himself into a sitting position. Just like he always did, he cradled her head in one big hand as he helped her sit up next to him, patiently waiting so she could take her turn in his bathroom first. Once she Returned to his bedroom, he tossed his legs over the edge of his bed and rose into a full-body stretch. But even as he lowered himself from his tiptoes, he paid no mind to feeling her eyes roving from the back of his head down to his feet and back up.</p>
<p>        Following a quick shower for both of them, they finally headed out to the kitchen for their Morn coffee. Both wore shit-eating grins, thanksta the birthday romp that Mishy’d used as a wake-up call for him, which was a better one than he coulda asked for. Other than that, they were just glad that they apparently hadn’t woken the twins with any of the racket they’d made. If they <em>had</em> woken them up, they just hoped that neither teen’d actually say anything about it once they came downstairs.</p>
<p>        With his coffee finally ready a short while later, Rob was more than content to just spend the Day relaxing. After all, with a lotta things still shut down and abnormally cold Weather in the area, it wasn’t like he could really go anywhere to celebrate his birthday. Not even going to the Beach was an option due to that cold Weather like it normally was, but he was more than content. His family was all alive and well, and he’d survived the majority of an insane Year to even celebrate another birthday. Other than finding and buying a new, bigger house soon and heading out on tour again, he couldn’t ask for anything better than that that he’d actually get right now.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Thirteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>January, 2021</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>        Mebane, North Carolina</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rob groaned as he rose up from the squat he’d dropped down into, the last box that needed to be unpacked cradled in his hands. By the Time Thanksgiving’d rolled around, he’d closed the sale on the house offered up by his best friend so that he was now a co-owner. Given that she’d pitched in ’cuz she’d wanted to, his ex-wife was the second owner, which suited him just fine. He wasn’t gonna argue over who was able to afford more of its list price, the taxes and utilities, etc. since all that mattered was that they’d a new, more suitable house.</p>
<p>        Granted, that meant packing up everything–including Mishy’s and the twins’ belongings that’d been put in a storage unit–and hauling it up to North Carolina. That certainly wasn’t an easy task, but they’d managed to do it so that they were technically moved in by the Time Christmas rolled around. After that, they’d decided to take their Time with unpacking since it wasn’t like they needed to rush with it.</p>
<p>        Now, it was mid-January, so they’d been living in North Carolina just almost a month and finally had almost everything unpacked. At this point, his ex-wife was five months pregnant with their third child, and everything seemed to be going just as smoothly as her first two pregnancies. Other than the general complaints like being tired and sore, not to mention her Morn sickness, she seemed like she couldn’t have been in better Spirits. That almost constant good mood was practically infectious, and it was only made better by knowing that they’d soon be able to find out the baby’s gender–if it actually cooperated with them.</p>
<p>        Considering that he already had a child of each gender, the Silver Fox didn’t really care about such a thing this Time around. He’d a son that could pass on his name as easily as he could chooseta give any of his Future kids a different surname. His daughter’d long since grown from an adorable lil girl who loved playing dress-up to a beautiful young woman that he loved just as much and was equally proud of.</p>
<p>        “So, ya really don’t care what this one is?” Gunnar was asking as he helped him finish up the unpacking.</p>
<p>        “Not really,” Rob answered with a chuckle. “Why should I, as long as the baby’s healthy?”</p>
<p>        “Well, don’t most men usually want sons as opposed to daughters?” his twin queried.</p>
<p>        “I dunno that most do, but I’ve certainly never cared,” he laughed. “When we found out Zak was in the making, I was more shocked that I was gonna be a dad than anything.”</p>
<p>        “How old <em>were</em> ya when he was born?”</p>
<p>        “I was twenty-seven,” the Silver Fox answered, a fond smile curving his lips as he recalled that Day. “Mishy and I’d been married for just over a Year, so I think that’s why I was still in shock, even the first Time I got to hold him.”</p>
<p>        “Wow, I thought you’d been married longer than that when he was born,” the taller of the twins mused.</p>
<p>        “We met in early-1987, but I forget exactly when,” Rob chuckled. “I wanna say around January or February, though.”</p>
<p>        Both teens nodded, listening Intently as they worked.</p>
<p>        “She and I dated for over a Year before I started thinking about popping the question,” he continued. “It wasn’t till about a Year before we got married that I actually did.”</p>
<p>        The Silver Fox couldn’t help a grin as he recalled how he’d used being in the middle of Poison’s second major tour to keep such a Secret from his then-future ex-wife. Being on the road, he coulda been fuckin’ a different woman every Night–which he honestly <em>had</em> done on a few tours–as easily as he coulda hidden getting her just about anything. It didn’t really matter whether it was a birthday present, an engagement ring, or just a lil trinket to show that he was thinking about and loved her.</p>
<p>        It was on his Night off between a pair of shows in Dallas and Corpus Christi, Texas that Mishy’d shown up to surprise him. She’d taken Time off from her job as a cocktail waitressta meet up with the tour, ’cuz while he’d get occasional breaks, there usually wasn’t enough Time to go back home. If he was lucky enough, he might get to go home for all of a week before he was right back out on the road.</p>
<p>        But by the Time she’d shown up that Night, Rob’d long since bought the engagement ring–he’d just been biding his Time for the right moment. That, and ’cuz he was a dumb, young man with very lil Worldly experienceta speak of back then, he’d been nervous and doing his fair share of overthinking. He couldn’t help second-guessing himself and wondering if he was making the right decision in buying that ring. After all, for all he knew, his girlfriend was gonna turn him down and royally humiliate him once he dropped down to his knee with Fear, Love, and a massive dose of Hope glittering in his eyes like Stars in the Sky.</p>
<p>        Luckily for him, she’d been so ecstatic that he’d finally grown the ballsta do the one thing she’d hoped he would that she couldn’t have brought herself to say no. Even though the ring he’d bought her was simple–a single Princess-cut Stone set in a Gold band–it was good enough for her. She’d been in tears before he’d ever gotten the question outta his mouth, and those tears’d continued flowing for the rest of the Night. He chuckled, his face heating up a bit, as he refused to go into detail about that part on the grounds that they didn’t <em>need</em> those details.</p>
<p>        “Since my tour Ended in July of 1989, only a lone show that September, we decided to have the wedding a Year to the Day after I proposed,” the Silver Fox said.</p>
<p>        “Can’t deny that that was certainly Romantic,” Grayson chuckled.</p>
<p>        “One of the only Days the entire band was completely sober till sometime in the nineties, too,” he laughed. “’Cuz I told the guys that if I wasn’t ruining my own big Day by drinking and drugging, neither were they.”</p>
<p>        “Lemme guess–’cuz Mom didn’t want that shit being done?” the shorter twin queried.</p>
<p>        “Actually, it was more so ’cuz I didn’t want our wedding turning into a repeat of the <em>Every Rose</em> video so I could actually remember it than ’cuz she put <em>her</em> foot down,” Rob answered with a laugh.</p>
<p>        “Wait, seriously?” Gunnar’s eyes widened.</p>
<p>        “Ya ever seen that video, kid?” the Silver Fox countered.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, plenty of Times,” he answered.</p>
<p>        “Honestly, it’s one of our favorites,” his brother admitted.</p>
<p>        “That scene where my tech’d to drag me off the stage? I was so rotted, I couldn’t stand up under my own power to save my Life,” he chuckled. “And once he got me backstage–let’s just say the good Times Ended till I sobered up again.”</p>
<p>        “Oh, jeez,” the taller twin said. “Dare we ask how bad it was?”</p>
<p>        “Wound up in the ER to get my stomach pumped, bad,” Rob told them. “Doc said that if I’d taken one more sip that Night, I prolly wouldn’t have woken up once I passed out.”</p>
<p>        Both teens looked shocked as they processed that.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, now ya see why I actually wanted to remember my wedding,” the Silver Fox sighed. “It mighta been one of the last things I remembered before…”</p>
<p>        “Before ya wound up drinking yourself to Death,” Gunnar supplied.</p>
<p>        Nodding as he sighed, he made no bones about having been <em>that</em> heavy a drinker back in the Day, and how it’d all but ruined his marriage right from the start. He hadn’t really tried to tone it down at first, ’cuz it was just part of the rock ‘n’ roll Lifestyle, like it or not. Yet another reason was ’cuz he’d been trying to drown that old pain of being abandoned by his father before he was even born, although it obviously hadn’t worked.</p>
<p>        Even Grayson could tell that it was hard for him to talk about, judging by how he wouldn’t make eye contact with them as he finished putting up the last of the unpacked dishes. But neither teen tried to interrupt him as he continued, saying that he’d tried to cut back at least a lil once he became a dad only a couple weeks before New Year’s or so in 1990.</p>
<p>        Heaving another sigh as he finally looked at them again, Rob said that back then, he was more so concerned with his son’s Health as opposed to gender, given the shape he was in, himself. And considering that things only got worse the first few Years of his son’s Life, considering the turmoil his band was going through, he really cared more about his Health than not. God only knew that a very specific event just before Zak’s fifth birthday was what’d finally opened his eyes and made him realize that he needed to make a serious, permanent Change.</p>
<p>        “I wasta the point that I physically <em>couldn’t</em> quit drinking,” the Silver Fox said. “Every Time I’d try, I’d lapse into what folks call delirium tremens these Days.”</p>
<p>        “Holy shit,” the teens breathed in unison.</p>
<p>        “What finally made me quit drinking–it was the state Zak found me in that last Time before I went to rehab,” he told them.</p>
<p>        “Dare we ask?” the shorter teen queried.</p>
<p>        “He found me in the throes of a seizure on the floor next to mine and Mishy’s bed,” Rob answered, his voice hardening into a growl. “Convulsing, foaming at the mouth–the whole nine yards. He was fuckin’ terrified of letting me go take a nap for Years after that.”</p>
<p>        “Seriously?” Gunnar looked surprised, but confused.</p>
<p>        “Well, I’d gone to take a nap a couple hours before he found me like that,” the Silver Fox explained. “So, it makes sense that he’d be scared to lemme do the one thing I’d done before I damn near croaked on him.”</p>
<p>        “Okay, that makes more sense,” Grayson said, nodding.</p>
<p>        “Going to rehab was the best, but hardest thing I’d ever done at that point,” he told them. “In there, I was nothing but a sick man, husband, and father that wanted to get better so I could go back home to my family. But other patients who recognized me as the bassist of Poison–they seemed to forget those things and see me as <em>just</em> the rock star.”</p>
<p>        “That couldn’t have been easy,” the taller teen mused.</p>
<p>        “Far from it, and it definitely impeded my recovery a bit,” Rob agreed. “And when I finally got outta there so I could go home–well, it was harder than hell to fight the Temptation at first.”</p>
<p>        As he broke down that final cardboard box, the Silver Fox told them that–at the Time–he didn’t realize just how miserable his wife’d been. In fact, it was a wonder that <em>he</em> was Zoe’s father, rather than the man who’d been his best friend–at least, <em>outside</em> his band–back then. He hadn’t realized that Mishy’d already been cheating on him at that point as a result of his drinking, then him wanting to focus on their son so much after getting outta rehab.</p>
<p>        It wasn’t till said daughter was four that all that finally came to a head when his tour in the Summer of 2001 got cut short. Like he usually did, he didn’t go into great detail and even reminded them not to think badly of the woman who’d adopted them based solely on that part of the story. He also reminded them of what he’d said the Day her second divorce was finalized–that there’d been a lotta shit to lead up to her making such a choice in the first place. And he hadn’t been kidding when he’d said that then any more than he was kidding about it now, which they seemed to understand.</p>
<p>        “Those first five Years or so after we got signed to Capitol Records–they were rough, even for me,” Rob said. “Basically being put on a Hamster wheel of recording and touring, ’cuz the record company wanted to recoup their money, not getting enough Time at home to rest and relax…”</p>
<p>        “Which meant not as much Time to spend with friends aside from your band mates and other loved ones,” the shorter twin mused.</p>
<p>        “Which obviously woulda included Mishy.” The Silver Fox nodded. “It was basically a recipe for Disaster with the Stability of a Molotov cocktail.”</p>
<p>        “The only way it was gonna End was in a fireball,” his brother said.</p>
<p>        “That’s not to say there weren’t any good Times,” he told them. “Obviously, getting married would be a highlight of just about anyone’s Life, and so would the Birth of a child, first or otherwise.”</p>
<p>        “Makes senseta us,” Grayson chuckled, gesturing between them.</p>
<p>        “And I can’t say that the Travel was entirely bad,” Rob said. “I mean, I’ve been all over the World a few Times over–I’ve gotten to see a lotta places most folks only <em>Dream</em> of going to several Times. I’ve tried all sortsa different foods, experienced all kindsa different cultures, and brought back so many souvenirs and trinkets that I pretty much need a storage unit for just those.”</p>
<p>        “Yeah, that’d definitely a highlight,” Gunner admitted.</p>
<p>        “But there’re things that I regret, as much as I love what I do,” the Silver Fox sighed. “Barely making it home in Time for Zak’s Birth, missing out on a lotta his and Zoe’s firsts–shit thatcha just don’t get a second chance at, no matter how much ya do or don’t wanna.”</p>
<p>        “So, what if ya were to get a second chance with Mom?” the shorter teen queried.</p>
<p>        “Honestly, I dunno that I’d take it as far as marriage again,” he answered, none of them realizing that said woman’d just slipped through the front door.</p>
<p>        “Why not, though? I mean, it’s not something that most folks get a second chance at,” his twin pointed out.</p>
<p>        “I’m well aware of that, son,” Rob chuckled. “I never said that I wouldn’t give her a second chance altogether–it’d just have to be something that <em>both</em> of us wanted.”</p>
<p>        Seeing that they were still a bit confused, he let out another chuckle as he settled on one of the stools at the breakfast bar so he’d be between them. Once they were settled on either side of him, he said that giving a Romantic relationship with Mishy a second shot wasn’t necessarily outta the question, if that was what they both wanted. He was just iffy about going so far as marriage, ’cuz if it hadn’t worked out the first Time around, there was no guarantees it would the second Time around, either. There was no point in spending money on the rings, marriage license, and even a small ceremony, only for it to End with them winding up in divorce court all over again–just for a different reason.</p>
<p>        When they thought about it like that, Gunnar and Grayson couldn’t deny that he certainly had a point with that. Both teens kinda looked at it like going swimming for the first Time after the pool was opened up for the Year. He’d dove in head-first without testing the Water before, not knowing whether it was gonna freeze him to Death or be hot enough to peel his stupid skin off. This Time around, he was actually taking the Time to test the Water <em>before</em> he dove in, metaphorically speaking.</p>
<p>        Nodding as he gave both their shoulders a quick, but reassuring squeeze, Rob said that that was exactly what he was doing. He didn’t wanna go diving into what appeared to be deep, warm Water, only for him to break his neck on a hidden sandbar, so to speak. And since he and his ex-wife hadn’t discussed such a thing with each other, he didn’t wanna make the mistake of assuming <em>she’d</em> wanna go as far as marriage again. She’d been burnt by marriage twice now, so it was entirely possible that she wouldn’t wanna play with Fire again, as it were.</p>
<p>        But what he didn’t realize was that not only had she heard the tail-End of their conversation, but he couldn’t have been more wrong about what Mishy wanted. She’d have loved nothing more than for him to propose again, whether it was for their unborn baby’s sake or not. However, while hearing what she did kinda made it lose Hope, it still gave her a type of reassurance that she needed.</p>
<p>        Even if they never got back together as far as being married went, it was pretty clear that her first ex-husband was in it for the long haul, and that was what mattered to her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Fourteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Later that Eve, Rob was by no means ready to go to bed when his ex-wife turned in for the Night around eight. Between what a lotta folks called an abnormally high Energy level for his age and having a lot on his mind, he knew that going to bed that early wouldn’t be smart. He’d no doubt keep her up by tossing and turning almost constantly till the wee hours of the Morn, and he didn’t wanna do that since she needed her rest.</p>
<p>        Considering that his office-slash-studio was on the other side of the wall from their bed, he knew that practicing was outta the question. Well, that was if he Intended to use one of his electric basses since that’d obviously require the use of an amp alongside it. However, he’d a pair of custom acoustic basses that he oft used for practice sessions, and one of those’d work just as well.</p>
<p>        Settling on the couch that he’d wanted since those were usually more comfortable than chairs when he was playing, the Silver Fox couldn’t help a sigh. After that chat with Gunnar and Grayson earlier in the afternoon, he couldn’t help but wonder what he should do between himself and Mishy. There was a part of him that genuinely <em>wanted</em> to go as far as getting remarried, but there was another part of him that thought that was a really bad idea. He didn’t know for sure that he could trust her not to cheat on him again, especially with one of his best friends. If they went into a marriage with that kinda blatant distrust, they’d wind up right back in divorce court just as quickly.</p>
<p>        But at the same Time, he knew without a doubt that he wasn’t ever gonna truly get over her, even if they <em>didn’t</em> give Romance a second shot. Just like he’d said several Times over the past few months, Rob knew that if he was ever gonna get over her, it woulda happened a long Time ago. Twenty Years as of this coming Summer was more than enough Time for such a thing to happen–but it hadn’t, and it was painfully obvious that it never would.</p>
<p>        The Silver Fox didn’t even realize what song he started plucking out as he sat there, lost deep in his own Thoughts. It was a very fitting one for his somewhat brooding mood, though, considering that <em>Every Rose</em> wasn’t just referring to Love and Romance. He and the rest of his band mates oft said that it was talking about Life as a whole, that there was no gain without some pain. It mighta been Inspired by Bret finding out an ex of his own was cheating on him back with it was written, but it could still apply to other areas of Life, too. When one applied it to this situation, it could be said that he’d a Life most’d kill to have–he’d two healthy children with a third on the way, two more he’d all but adopted, and plenty of friends and loved ones, but he still suffered more than one form of pain.</p>
<p>        “Ugh, I’m just gonna drive myself fuckin’ nuts,” Rob grumbled, finally tuning in enough to realize what he was playing. “Or I’m just gonna drive everybody around me nuts.”</p>
<p>        “No shit.”</p>
<p>        Glancing over at his office doorway as he jumped, he saw the twins standing there with shit-eating grins on their faces.</p>
<p>        “Jesus Christ,” the Silver Fox snapped, glad his right hand had clamped down so his strings were muted. “You’re fuckin’ lucky I wasn’t armed or anything, boys.”</p>
<p>        “Sorry, but we were listening to ya practice,” Gunnar chuckled.</p>
<p>        “When we realizedja were playing <em>Every Rose,</em> we figured it’d be a bad idea to knock in the middle of it,” his twin added.</p>
<p>        “I prolly wouldn’t have heardja,” Rob admitted with a chuckle of his own. “Hell, I didn’t even realize what I was playing till I hit that last chord.”</p>
<p>        “Ya get lost in the Music like that <em>every</em> Time ya play?” the taller teen asked, finally moving to join him once he waved them in.</p>
<p>        “Sometimes,” the Silver Fox answered. “It usually depends on my mood and whether I’m practicing ’cuz I wanna, or as part of a tour rehearsal.”</p>
<p>        “Yeah, I can see why you’d <em>really</em> have to focus during a tour rehearsal,” Gunnar chuckled.</p>
<p>        “So, what’s up?” he queried, his bass back on its stand for the moment. “’Cuz ya look like you’ve something on your minds.”</p>
<p>        “We were just curious about this,” the shorter teen answered, holding something out to him.</p>
<p>        Rob’s brows furrowed as he took what was held out to him face-down, what he felt against his fingertips telling him it was a photo. But his eyes were quick to widen when he flipped it over, his mind going back to another Time and place entirely as he took in the image. He hadn’t seen it in so long, he’d honestly forgotten that this picture’d even been taken, let alone still had a copy floating around somewhere in the World.</p>
<p>        In front of a pink backdrop, he and Mishy stood together in a close embrace, both still in their wedding attire. Both were in solid white right down to their footwear and even their socks and hosiery, the only thing besides their hair to have any Color being the corsage pinned to the left side of his chest. His left hand rested gently on her arm–or maybe her waist–as he pulled her as close as he could, the Golden wedding band that’d resided on his finger till the Day he filed for divorce clearly visible. Unless he was mistaken, her forearm was right below his hand, but sadly, the picture’d gotten cut off there.</p>
<p>        But it was the looks on their faces in this picture that <em>really</em> took him back more so than the picture, itself did. While both of them looked happy beyond words–<em>ecstatic</em> was prolly a better description–it was his own expression that said it all. Every last ounce of Love he’d felt for his ex-wife was written all over his face as he obviously prepared to lean down for a kiss, and there was no mistaking it.</p>
<p>        “Where the hell’dja find this?” the Silver Fox queried, his throat tight as he finally looked back up at them.</p>
<p>        “It was in one of the books we were putting up,” Grayson answered.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, ’cuz we <em>thought</em> we’d unpacked all the boxes earlier,” his twin agreed with a chuckle. “Turns out we forgot one in the garage, so we figured we’d get it done before we went to bed.”</p>
<p>        “We didn’t recognize any of the books, though, so we know they weren’t Mom’s,” he told him.</p>
<p>        “They mighta been mine, but hell–they coulda even been Zak’s or Zoe’s,” Rob sighed.</p>
<p>        “Whyddaya say that?” the taller twin queried, cocking a brow.</p>
<p>        “’Cuz they used to love going through my old photo albums and squirreling shit away when I wasn’t looking,” he chuckled. “Zoe tended to do that more than her brother, but he still did his fair share, too.”</p>
<p><em>        “Ahhhh,”</em> they breathed in unison, something that he still found a lil freaky.</p>
<p>        “We almost thought you’d hidden it on purpose,” Gunnar admitted. “I mean, considering whatcha were telling us earlier…”</p>
<p>        “More like the kids woulda hidden it from me to keep me from burning it,” the Silver Fox laughed.</p>
<p>        “You’d have seriously done that?” the shorter twin asked.</p>
<p>        “Right after we first got divorced, hell yeah,” Rob answered. “I toldja <em>why</em> I filed for divorce in the first place, and I was pretty bitter at that Time.”</p>
<p>        “Makes sense,” the taller twin mused.</p>
<p>        “If they thought I’d burn it to more or less erase Mishy from my Life, I wouldn’t put hiding something like this from me beneath either of my wily kids,” he told them.</p>
<p>        “I prolly woulda, too, if I’m honest,” Grayson said. “I mean, it was pretty obvious how much ya loved Mom in this picture.”</p>
<p>        “Who’re <em>you</em> fuckin’, bro?” his twin snorted. “He <em>still</em> loves her like that.”</p>
<p>        “What on Earth’re y’all babbling about?” the Silver Fox queried on a chuckle, not expecting the answer he was gonna get.</p>
<p>        Both teens leveled a bit of a hard look on him that almost made him feel like the roles of parent and child had momentarily been reversed. Mincing no words as they gave their opinions, they both agreed that if he <em>didn’t</em> still look at Mishy almost the exact same way as he’d looked at her when this picture was taken, they were both blind idiots. In fact, they’d never seen another couple look happier and more in Love than they’d looked on their wedding Day all those Years ago, if they were honest.</p>
<p>        Rob’s breath caught in his throat as he pondered that, which was something he hadn’t thought about before. Ever since his ex-wife’d come back into his Life last Spring, he’d known that things were shifting in both their Lives. He’d been mildly annoyed at first, but willing to be civil for the sake of their son and his Health–the frustration’d only set in after the shutdowns started.</p>
<p>        Ever since then, the Silver Fox hadn’t really thought about how he looked at much of anyone, and what mighta been in his expression when he did. Unable to help his Curiosity, though, he wondered just when he’d have started pinning looks like this on Mishy again. Had it been right after that first Night she’d crawled into bed with him ’cuz she was cold, or had it taken till their first romp since their divorce? For that matter, might it’ve been around the Time she’d found out she was pregnant with his child again that such a thing’d started? Something told him that the only way he was gonna find out’d be to ask his daughter since she’d been in the house more than her brother at that point.</p>
<p>        Thankfully, Zoe hadn’t headed up to bed just yet, and he managed to catch her just as she got to the bottom of the stairs. Not wanting to have yet another reason to wind up tossing and turning once he finally went to bed, he shot her a look that screamed that he wanted to talk to her as he beckoned her into the office. She was obviously curious as to what he wanted, but knew he was trying to keep quiet for her mother’s sake so she could sleep. With a quick nod, she diverted from the stairs over to his office doors, which she closed behind her after stepping in.</p>
<p>        “What’s up, Daddy?” she queried.</p>
<p>        “Be honest with me, baby girl,” Rob told her, his tone saying more than his words did. “When the hell did I start looking at Mom like this again?”</p>
<p>        The young woman took the picture he held out to her, her eyes widening as she took it in.</p>
<p>        “Gunnar and Grayson prolly couldn’t tell me the honest Truth, and Zak wasn’t at the house quite as much, or I’d ask him,” he told her.</p>
<p>        “Ya want the God-honest Truth?” Zoe asked, looking up at him as she handed the picture back to him. “I’m pretty sure ya hadn’t started that fling that’s making me a big sister, hint hint.”</p>
<p>        The Silver Fox’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re sure about that?”</p>
<p>        “First Time <em>I</em> noticed it was in late-May last Year, and I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me at first,” she answered, shrugging.</p>
<p>        “Jesus fuck balls,” Rob breathed, flopping back down on the couch where he’d been sitting before.</p>
<p>        “Dare I ask, or am I gonna be scarred for Life, if I do?” his daughter chuckled.</p>
<p>        “You’d prolly be scarred for Life, baby girl,” he admitted with a chuckle of his own. “Not that I’d go into explicit detail.”</p>
<p>        Zoe knew she was being a glutton for punishment, but she couldn’t help cocking a brow curiously.</p>
<p>        “Mom crawled into my bed in the middle of the Night ’cuz she was cold on June fourth,” the Silver Fox said, unable to help a smirk. “The next Morn–well, undergarments didn’t come off, but…”</p>
<p>        “Okay, I don’t need more detail than that, Daddy!” the young woman laughed.</p>
<p>        “Only other thing I’ll say beyond that–nothing more happened for nearly a month after that, hint hint,” Rob snickered.</p>
<p>        Her eyes widened as she processed what he’d just said, as well as the implications those words held in their fine print, so to speak. Unless she’d just misheard him, he and Mishy’d done what they could to help each other with their sexual frustration, but not take things <em>too</em> far till closer to <em>July</em> fourth. But she’d told him that he’d been looking at her with a similar, if not identical expression to the one he’d been wearing in the picture he’d shown her before they’d more or less engaged in mutual masturbation, for lack of a better way to put it.</p>
<p>        The Silver Fox couldn’t help laughing under his breath as he took in his daughter’s shocked expression. He was well aware of what was going through her head, which was exactly why he’d wanted to get <em>her</em> opinion more than anyone else’s. Something told him that his ex-wife hadn’t noticed any such looks–and if she <em>had,</em> she prolly wouldn’t be honest with him about it.</p>
<p>        Pushing himself up so he could lay that picture on his desk till he could hide it where nobody else’d find it in the Future, Rob told her that she’d given him the missing piece of his figurative puzzle. Just as he’d suspected, neither of the twins woulda been able to do that, ’cuz they hadn’t been around at the Time he’d apparently started turning adoring looks on Mishy again. And by that Time, Zak’d Returned to his apartment across Town for the most part, so he doubted he’d have noticed such an expression crossing his face. If that’d happened in front of the young man <em>after</em> they’d started sleeping together again–well, he may or may not’ve noticed. Not only that, but if he <em>had,</em> he might’ve thought it was simply a result of the sex and that it’d eventually wear off as said sex lost its novelty.</p>
<p>        Zoe nodded her agreement as she moved to hug him, saying that her brother oft missed the lil things like that till they were pointed out to him. In fact, he hadn’t even realized their parents were at least unleashing sexual frustration on one another till she’d shown up at his apartment in the middle of the Night. She’d heard them up in her room one too many Nights in a row for her liking, but rather than saying anything to them about it, she’d simply left before she lost her mind.</p>
<p>        He couldn’t help how his face heated up at the Thought of accidentally tormenting either of his children like that. Obviously, it wasn’t something that he’d have done on purpose, and certainly not while Mishy was married to another man. But he thanked her for choosing to keep her mouth shut all the same, ’cuz if it was this humiliating for him, no doubt it’d be worse for his ex-wife. In fact, he suggested that they not mention it to her later on down the road, ’cuz things were relatively peaceful, all things considered, and he wanted them to stay that way so that nobody–especially he and said ex-wife–started fighting.</p>
<p>        “I think I can live with that,” she agreed with a chuckle. “But I’ma ask one thing of ya.”</p>
<p>        “I’m kinda scared to ask what that is,” Rob admitted, an apprehensive look settling over his features.</p>
<p>        “Get the master suite soundproofed, or come up with a way to warn me so I can go sleep in the boys’ game room!” his daughter laughed. “’Cuz my room’s right over yours <em>again,</em> hint hint.”</p>
<p>        He couldn’t help choking on his own spit for a moment before cracking up, himself. “I think coming up with a way to warn ya will be cheaper in the End.”</p>
<p>        “Just don’t make it anything obvious or <em>too</em> perverted, Daddy,” Zoe giggled. “I doubt Mama’s gonna like it, if ya embarrass her enough to make her turn purple.”</p>
<p>        “Well, it’s not like I’ma mime eating her out as my signal!” the Silver Fox laughed.</p>
<p>        “Oh, my–I’m out!” she laughed. “I don’t need to know that kinda shit about my parents!”</p>
<p>        “Then get outta my office,” Rob snickered. “’Cuz young or old, I’m still just a man, and this is <em>my</em> domain.”</p>
<p>        Still laughing, his daughter gave him another quick hug before excusing herself to head upstairsta her room for the Night. Even Gunnar and Grayson were laughing as they, too decided that it was best to get outta his hair before they wound up scarred for Life. He might not’ve been <em>their</em> father in the biological sense, but they still didn’t wanna know such things about him.</p>
<p>        Once they were all upstairs and damn sure wouldn’t see, the Silver Fox picked his new hiding spot for that old wedding picture very carefully. If there was one place on the Planet no one ever bothered digging around in, it was his guitar cases since they knew how anal he was about that. There was no better place than in the built-in compartment meant for shit like cables and picks within the case for his acoustic guitar, as far as he was concerned. Since it was a hard case, it wouldn’t allow the picture to get crushed or ripped, and that was the thing he was most worried about.</p>
<p>        With that picture carefully squirreled away, Rob turned his attention to something completely different. Ever since that conversation that afternoon, he’d been considering his options, especially once he’d disappeared into his office. He still wasn’t entirely sure about remarrying his ex-wife–not till they’d a chanceta talk about such a thing, that is. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t do something to show the shift in his feelings and make her feel special all at once.</p>
<p>        For that reason, he decided to take the idea that popped into mind online for at least two different reasons. The first was ’cuz he still didn’t know the area very well, and while GPS could go a long way, he didn’t feel like getting lost by going out and wandering around an unfamiliar area. His second reason was ’cuz it’d no doubt be cheaper, if only from not wasting gas by driving around, and prolly quicker. Besides, at least by taking his idea online, he wouldn’t have to worry about complying with that damned mandatory mask thing by doing it in public, instead. He knew it might be a long shot, but he’d to have Faith, or he was never gonna get anywhere with his idea–and that was a no-no in his book.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Check the Wattpad posting of this chapter, 'cuz I'm including the picture I mentioned in it there.<br/>~Firefly</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Fifteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A week after the kids’ surprising revelation, Rob and Mishy were both up almost with the Sun, even though the latter didn’t wanna be. It was the Morn of her first obstetric appointment since their move from Florida, so they couldn’t really sleep in, whether they wanted to or not. Besides, making that appointment wasn’t just for the Health of both mom and baby–if they were lucky, they’d be able to find out what they were having today.</p>
<p>        Since she’d actually grown up in the area before moving to Florida as an adult, Raven was full of advice for the former spouses. Everything from which back roadsta take, if the main thoroughfares were shut down for some reason to which Healthcare system was the best was on the table. It was for that reason that when she’d all but insisted they find someone who was part of the UNC Healthcare system, they listened to her. They were both sure she’d know better than they would, just like they’d know the best Healthcare systems in the areas they’d lived in the longest better.</p>
<p>        Both expectant parents’d been horrified when she’d steered them <em>away</em> from Cone Health, Alamance Regional Medical Center in particular. They’d wanted to know why, and while she’d tried to tone down her brutally honest side, she’d given it to them straight. Apparently, they’d a bad reputation of losing patient records, and she’d even known a woman who’d been overdosed on Morphine in their emergency department just a couple Years ago. Suffering from chronic pain, she’d already been on a prescription for the shit, but the emergency team apparently hadn’t kept track of how much they gave her after her arrival due to a hip problem in the Summer of 2019.</p>
<p>        Not wanting anything to happen to his ex-wife–and therefore, their baby–as a result of incompetent staff, Rob’d refused to take her anywhere near that hospital or any of its affiliates. He didn’t care if he’d to drive all the way to the Coast to find a suitable doctor and hospital for the rest of her pregnancy. It’d be better than losing either of them for what he considered the highest order of bullshit reasons.</p>
<p>        “Ya sure ya don’t mind coming with us?” he was asking as he glanced over at his friend.</p>
<p>        “Hey, I’ve already toldja that I know the area almost like the back of my hand,” Raven laughed. “I don’t mind playing chauffer while you’re still memorizing routes.”</p>
<p>        “Can’t blame me for wanting to be sure,” the Silver Fox chuckled.</p>
<p>        “And I don’t,” she assured him. “I’m just saying that you’ve just barely started memorizing the routesta places right around Town–you’d wind up down in <em>South</em> Carolina, if you’d to take a detour and your GPS went out, and I wasn’t with y’all.”</p>
<p>        “Got that right,” Mishy giggled as she gently yanked him down onto a bar stool and moved to stand behind him. “I haven’t met a man yet who actually <em>likes</em> asking for Directions.”</p>
<p>        “Neither’ve I,” the brunette woman agreed with a laugh before he could interject. “And don’t even try to argue it, big boy, or I’ll braid your hair tight enough to give ya a migraine.”</p>
<p>        “No fuckin’ thanks,” Rob grumbled, sitting still as she started brushing his hair for him. “I’m already nervous enough to make myself sick–I don’t need a migraine on top of it.”</p>
<p>        “Wow, ya can actually <em>do</em> anything with that mop besides tie it in a ponytail for him?” his ex-wife queried, looking surprised.</p>
<p>        “It’s ’cuz of how I braid hair,” she answered, nodding. “I don’t have to use more than one elastic band unless I wanna, even on my own hair.”</p>
<p>        “That’s certainly impressive,” the blonde–whose grayish-brown roots were growing out–mused.</p>
<p>        “Just watch and learn,” Raven chuckled as she got his hair brushed back into a ponytail that normally woulda been tied off at the nape of his neck.</p>
<p>        With surprisingly good dexterity, the brunette woman managed to separate the ponytail into the three separate chunks she needed. Not bothering to waste any Time, she started plaiting those three chunks into the braid he wanted his hair in today so that they were pulled snug right up against his skull. Amazingly enough, her End result–which actually went down to an inch or so above the tips of his hair–looked so tight, Mishy’d have sworn he’d wind up with a headache. But even more surprising was that the braid actually wasn’t plaited as tight as it looked, yet still tight enough to avoid unraveling <em>too</em> much over the course of the Day.</p>
<p>        Chuckling as she let gone once she’d gotten it tied off, Rob rolled his neck slightly as he rose from the bar stool he’d been yanked down onto. Just like every Time he got her to braid his hair for him, it felt perfectly tight, but not like it woulda been if he’d made his own attempt. But the fact that it just made him look like any other biker, rather than a wild rock star, was prolly the most surprising part aside from just how dexterous she was.</p>
<p>        However, his ex-wife was further surprised when she snatched up her own hairbrush while waiting for him to grab their essentials outta their bedroom. The limits of her dexterity seemed to be nonsexistent as she seemed to pull a small chunk of her own hair into a half-ponytail. But instead of tying it off, she split it into three relatively even chunks, which she started plaiting for a couple inches before she actually tied it off. From there, she brushed up another chunk that she started plaiting into that first mini-braid, and by the Time she was done, she looked like she was sporting a French braid.</p>
<p>        “Holy shit,” Mishy breathed as she tied off the End of the whole thing. “Even <em>I’ve</em> never been able to braid hair <em>that</em> well.”</p>
<p>        “She do the faux-Frenchie again?” the Silver Fox chuckled as he rejoined them.</p>
<p>        “It’s a biker braid, asshat!” Raven laughed.</p>
<p>        “Damn thing always <em>looks</em> more like a French braid, if you’re far enough away,” he retorted with a grin.</p>
<p>        “He’s definitely right about that,” the blonde woman agreed. “If I hadn’t seen ya tie it off, I wouldn’t know you’d done that from a distance since the elastics’re as Dark as your hair.”</p>
<p>        “That’s ’cuz it’s a play on the biker ponytail my adoptive mother taught me when I was a kid,” she told her.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, the same thing I used to do with <em>my</em> hair when I’d actually wear a helmet before I quit riding,” Rob chuckled as Enlightenment Dawned across her features.</p>
<p>        “Can’t say it didn’t look good on ya,” she giggled. “Assuming thatcha didn’t just run around with your hair unbound, that is.”</p>
<p>        “Ya know how prone to migraines I am, and that that’s why I usually choose that route, so to speak,” the Silver Fox laughed.</p>
<p>        “Too well I think both of us know it,” Raven agreed. “We got everything we need to head out with?”</p>
<p>        Nodding after double-checking his pockets, he assured her that he’d all his own essentials as he handed Mishy’s purseta her. Said ex-wife shot him a grateful smile as she let it hang from her shoulder, then took the file folder he also handed her after helping her up from her seat. Even though they were pretty sure the OB/GYN she was about to see could request her records from any other doctor she’d ever seen, they both figured taking a copy with them’d be faster.</p>
<p>        After telling the kids goodbye and making sure they all knew Zoe was in charge, Rob more or less followed one woman out front while leading the other. One of the bad things about North Carolina was that this State tended to get a lot more Ice than anything during the Winter, which they were currently in the thick of. Luckily, his best friend had advised Salting the front steps and walkway the Night previous, just to play it safe, so it wasn’t quite as slick as it coulda been. Even still, he wanted to be sure that if <em>anyone</em> got hurt, it was himself or said best friend, not his pregnant ex-wife.</p>
<p>        Mishy was more than grateful for his help as he gave her a boost into the Tahoe that the brunette woman owned. She might be stuck in the back seat due to being the shortest one that <em>wasn’t</em> driving, but she was content with that. Considering the length of his legs, it made more sense that her ex-husband get to ride shotgun so he wasn’t quite as uncomfortable.</p>
<p>        They were all glad that Raven was driving when they reached the Interstate, which was more of a parking lot than a main thoroughfare at the moment. Instead of bothering to get into the lane that’d allow her to hit the entrance ramp so she could merge onto it, she stayed on the road they were on, which was Mebane Oaks. Continuing on past Sheetz, their local Walmart, and several other businesses–even a Fire station–she didn’t bother flicking her turn signal till she reached the next intersection. It was there that she cut a left after pausing at the stop sign to assure herself that no other traffic was coming, which made the expectant parents realize they were <em>way</em> outta their element. Neither of them’d ever been this far out in the country, and they’d have no doubt gotten lost, if she hadn’t been with them.</p>
<p>        Fourteen miles that felt more like thirty and about twenty minutes later, the brunette woman was slowing for the turn into the parking lot of their destination. She couldn’t help a chuckle at their confusion since she’d told them that the OB/GYN his ex-wife’d chosen was part of the UNC Healthcare system. Both were under the impression that they were going all the way to Chapel Hill, which was where their research’d told them that UNC Hospital was located. That was when they got a surprise when she told them that this wasn’t the <em>main</em> hospital, which <em>was</em> further East in Chapel Hill–this was basically an off-shoot campus.</p>
<p>        “Kinda like Duke, UNC’s system extends outside its home City,” she chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Wait, seriously?” the Silver Fox cocked a brow as they started digging out masks since–unfortunately–they were still required in most places.</p>
<p>        “They both extend all the way up to Mebane, as far as I know,” Raven answered, nodding. “Once ya get up to there, that’s pretty much where Cone Health takes over.”</p>
<p>        “Ah, I gotcha.” He nodded as he settled the mask’s straps over his ears, then slid his glasses back on. “Fuck, I hate these damn things–I can’t fuckin’ breathe with them on!”</p>
<p>        “Neither can I, so you’re not alone there,” the brunette woman laughed.</p>
<p>        “Better than getting the same shit that damn near killed Zak last Spring, though,” Mishy pointed out.</p>
<p>        “Especially in your cases,” she agreed. “You’re both already in the high-risk category just from being over fifty, and Rob’s lucky as hell <em>he</em> didn’t catch it last Year. <em>You</em> definitely don’t need to be catching it, if ya ain’t gotta.”</p>
<p>        “Doesn’t mean we’ve to <em>like</em> any of the protocols ’cuz of this shit,” Rob chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Oh, I totally agree there!” Raven told him as they finally made to climb outta her truck. “’Cuz I’d be lying out my ass, if I said that I didn’t!”</p>
<p>        “And prolly through the skin of your teeth, too,” he laughed, wrapping an arm around both their shoulders as they headed toward the building.</p>
<p>        It was seemingly the expectant parents’ lucky Day more than they’d realized, ’cuz the brunette woman seemed to already know where she was going. Once they were in the building that she said housed both the obstetric-gynecology <em>and</em> urology departments, she was able to lead them straight to where they needed to go. Had they tried finding the floor they needed to go to on their own, they’d have no doubt wound up lost and in serious need of a map.</p>
<p>        At the check-in desk of said department, Mishy’d to go through the typical routine pretty much forced on new patients. Luckily, at their friend’s insistence, they’d left with more than enough Time to arrive for the appointment with Time to spare for filling out paperwork beforehand. Granted, that didn’t stop the curious looks of other patients, but those were easily ignored as they settled in for a bit.</p>
<p>        The Silver Fox found himself having to remind his ex-wife of a few things as she filled out said paperwork, which made him chuckle. It was asking for simple shit in regardsta the father of her child, such as blood type and general Health history. Considering how long they’d been divorced, he wasn’t surprised that she’d long since forgotten that he was O-positive. As far as he knew, both Zak and Zoe were the same blood type, but he couldn’t remember what <em>hers</em> was off the top of his head without asking her, either.</p>
<p>
  <em>        “No, mikä yllätys nähdä värikkäästi hullu täti täällä.”</em>
</p>
<p>        Rob’s head jerked up at the chuckled phrase, which caught him by surprise since it was in solid Finnish.</p>
<p><em>        “Vain näytteleminen moraalisena tukena, minun yhtä hullu veljentytär,”</em> his best friend laughed.</p>
<p>        “Oh, really?” the young woman before them queried, the mask she was wearing doing nothing to hide the laughter in her voice.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, and I’d watch who ya speak <em>Suomi</em> around,” Raven answered. “Ya never know who I’ve taught it and <em>Italiano</em> to.”</p>
<p>        “Duly noted,” she laughed. “Well, I gotta get back to work since I’ve a patient I’m supposed to be seeing soon.”</p>
<p>        “Wouldn’t wanna keep ya from that,” the brunette woman told her.</p>
<p>        “Especially since she’s apparently high-risk for a couple different reasons.”</p>
<p>        That made both expectant parents cock a brow curiously.</p>
<p>        “Can’t go into detail ’cuz of doctor-patient confidentiality and all, but she’s a new patient,” she chuckled. “I just dunno what she looks like, even without the mandatory masks.”</p>
<p>        “Then go get back on your search,” Raven told her. “My friend’s appointment ain’t for another few minutes.”</p>
<p>        “We’ll have to catch up sometime,” the young woman said as she turned to head over to the check-in desk. “Katie, has that new patient–Mrs. Kuykendall–showed up yet?”</p>
<p>        “Oh, so <em>that’s</em> who you’re looking for,” the Silver Fox chuckled before the receptionist could respond, which caught her attention.</p>
<p>        “That name familiar to ya or something?” she queried, turning back to face them.</p>
<p>        “God, I <em>hope</em> it is,” Rob laughed. “’Cuz if I just connected the dots right, <em>I’m</em> the one who gave it to the patient you’re looking for.”</p>
<p>        Even Mishy couldn’t help a giggle as her jaw obviously dropped. “Guess doctor-patient confidentiality holds no standing here, huh?”</p>
<p>        “Not if your given name’s Dana,” the young woman laughed.</p>
<p>        “Ugh, I <em>hate</em> being called that,” she admitted as her ex-husband roseta help her up. “I’d rather be called Mishy.”</p>
<p>        “Not a problem,” she said, gesturing for them to follow her. “Just stick with Sophia for me, and we’ll be good.”</p>
<p>        “Your name a weird one compared to most Americans?” the Silver Fox queried on a chuckle.</p>
<p>        “It’s Sohvi Aaltojanen since I’m actually Finnish,” the young doctor laughed. “Sophia’s a variant of Sohvi, and usually easier for most to pronounce.”</p>
<p>        Not even his ex-wife could help laughing as they followed her deeper into her department so they could get her appointment underway. They both agreed that they’d have a bit of trouble with that pronunciation till they’d practiced it quite a bit. Granted, he’d have an easier Time with it since he was already more or less fluent in Finnish, but it’d still take some work for him.</p>
<p>        Before leading them into an exam room, Dr. Aaltojanen had her new patient kick off her shoes for a couple different reasons. First and foremost, she wanted to get an accurate height to record in her chart, which was typical of just about any doctor’s appointment. Her second reason wasta get a more accurate weight once she’d her step on the scale since she obviously wasn’t gonna have her strip where anyone who cared to look could see. After those measurements were taken and recorded, it was off to that exam room so she could get her vitals.</p>
<p>        Once her vitals’d been taken and recorded in her chart as well, Mishy was asked to strip so she could change into one of those aggravating gowns. Rob simply shrugged and offered to wait in the hall, knowing that she might not be comfortable with his presence for this part. After all, they’d been divorced for nearly twenty Years, and while he mighta seen everything she possessed at one point or another, this was a completely different situation.</p>
<p>        “You’ve already seen everything a billion Times over,” she laughed, reaching up to unbutton the maternity shirt she’d worn.</p>
<p>        “Oh, I know that,” the Silver Fox chuckled. “But I also know women can be a lil weird about this kinda shit.”</p>
<p>        “Men’re no different when it comesta more or less being felt up–or with those dreaded prostate exams,” Dr. Aaltojanen told him.</p>
<p>        “Ugh, tell me about it,” he agreed. “I’d to take our son with me for the doctor’s appointment where I wound up getting my first one, and lemme tell ya–Zak wound up in the hall during it.”</p>
<p>        “So, you’ve already had a child together?” the young woman queried, her tone curious as she looked up at them.</p>
<p>        “Two, actually,” Mishy corrected her. “Our son Zak just turned thirty in December, and our daughter Zoe just turned twenty-four a couple weeks ago.”</p>
<p>        “Can’t say I’ve this kinda case come in every Day,” she chuckled. “But it’s not the first couple I’ve dealt with who’d a late-in-Life baby, planned or unplanned.”</p>
<p>        “Well, we’re not exactly a couple–at least, not anymore,” Rob admitted. “This Summer’ll make twenty Years that we’ve been divorced.”</p>
<p>        “Sounds like a helluva story,” Dr. Aaltojanen mused.</p>
<p>        Unable to help a laugh as he took his ex-wife’s shirt, then helped her off the exam table to ditch her maternity jeans, he more than agreed with that statement. But he also said that it was prolly better to let said ex-wife explain, ’cuz there were some parts that she’d more information on than he did. He felt that it was better she get the correct information to work with the first Time, which they could get to over the course of the appointment.</p>
<p>        Mishy settled on the exam table again in just her bra and panties, laying back once she was asked to without argument. She couldn’t help a wince as the young OB/GYN started her physical exam, considering how tender her breasts were. It was a part of pregnancy that couldn’t be avoided, especially if she wanted to nurse again, so she made no complaint.</p>
<p>        Once the physical exam–including a <em>pelvic</em> exam–was wrapped up a few minutes later, Dr. Aaltojanen turned her attention to getting filled in on her medical history more. The records she’d brought with her definitely went a long way, but she preferred getting accounts straight from her patients in addition to that. After all, they might recall something that’d never gotten recorded, or be able to help her make a correction to something that’d been recorded wrong to Begin with. It was somewhat a practical and precautionary thing for her, and it was definitely a good thing in a case like her current one.</p>
<p>        “Both my previous pregnancies went pretty smoothly,” the blonde woman chuckled, a hand resting on her belly. “Typical Morn sickness, increased hunger and tiredness–not much to really complain about besides labor.”</p>
<p>        “And you’ve had pretty much the same experience this Time, even though you’re obviously older?” she queried, typing things into the chart she’d started for her as she listened.</p>
<p>        “More or less,” Mishy answered with a nod. “I mean, I’ve been a lil more tired than the first two Times, but I’m blaming that on being older and having a lot going on since last Year.”</p>
<p>        “Our son came down with what they both call <em>Godzilla Flu,”</em> the Silver Fox supplied when she cocked a brow curiously. “Ever since then, it’s seemingly been one stressor after another for both of us, but especially her.”</p>
<p>        “How so?” the young OB/GYN asked. “’Cuz if it might negatively affect her pregnancy at <em>any</em> point, it’s a good thing to know about.”</p>
<p>        “Well, I guess ya could say I wound up on house arrest with my ex-husband here,” her patient chuckled. “By the Time the mandatory quarantine we were put under was up, I couldn’t get a flight back to where I was living in Texas at the Time.”</p>
<p>        “Yeah, and as our son said, when ya lock two people together in a house like that, they’re gonna kill or fuck each other before it’s all said and done,” Rob chuckled.</p>
<p>        “Well, I think it’s safe to say thatcha didn’t kill each other,” she laughed.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, and if I’d known we were gonna wind up in bed together, I’d have told him about the Fertility drugs I was on a lot sooner,” Mishy sighed.</p>
<p>        “Fertility drugs?” Dr. Aaltojanen’s brows rose.</p>
<p>        Nodding, she explained her reason for having been on them in the first place, which more than answered the question of how on Earth she’d wound up pregnant again at her age. Thankfully, the young OB/GYN didn’t seem the slightest bit fazed by or judgmental of that part, which was a relief. But neither of them were expecting her to say that she’d dealt with cases that were just as weird and weirder.</p>
<p>        Turning her full attention back to them, she inquired as to how much rest she was getting, now that she was officially divorced again and they’d finished up their move. The blonde woman was more than happy to report that she was able to get plenty of rest, even <em>before</em> their move. If it wasn’t her ex-husband making sure she stayed off her feet as much as possible, it was one of their kids. Other than that, she’d her stepsons looking out for her, too, which made her newest OB/GYN nod approvingly as she added that to her chart.</p>
<p>        With all her questions answered, Dr. Aaltojanen told them to hang tight so she could grab one of the ultrasound scanners from a different exam room. Due to her patient’s advanced age alone, she not only wanted to schedule monthly appointments till she delivered, but get an ultrasound at each one. Knowing that she’d been under quite a bit of stress, even though she’d been doing what she could to rest and relax, made her wanna check on the baby’s Health even more than normal.</p>
<p>        Unable to help a grin as he looked over at her, Rob couldn’t help but ask if she really wanted to know what they were having. He knew they might not be able to find out for another month or so, but if it was possible, he was more than a lil curious. If anything, he wanted to get started on a nursery design sooner, rather than later, which was his main reason for being curious. She might have at least three months, maybe even more before she was due, but he also knew that that kinda thing took Time. Getting started sooner meant they wouldn’t have to rush, or still be working on it <em>after</em> their baby was born since it wouldn’t be long afterward that he’d have to deal with tour prep.</p>
<p>        “I’m not gonna lie and say that I <em>don’t</em> wanna know,” Mishy chuckled. “But gender doesn’t matter as much as Health to me.”</p>
<p>        “Agreed.” He nodded as he gently squeezed her hand. “I mean, I was happy enough with just <em>two</em> kids–having a third is just an unexpected Blessing.”</p>
<p>        “And since we’ve already got one of each, it’s not like we’re all that picky over boy or girl,” the blonde woman pointed out.</p>
<p>        “Hell, I didn’t really care, even when ya were pregnant with Zak,” the Silver Fox admitted. “Yeah, having a boy was awesome, but I’d have been just as happy, if he’d been a girl since he was healthy.”</p>
<p>        “Just like ya were when Zoe was born,” she said with a smile.</p>
<p>        “My point exactly,” Rob agreed, nodding.</p>
<p>        “All right, guys.” The door opened for the young OB/GYN to enter, a rolling cart ahead of her. “I gotta ask before we get started–interested in finding out gender today?”</p>
<p>        “If it’s possible,” he answered.</p>
<p>        “We care more about Health than gender, just like the first two Times,” Mishy told her. “But knowing so we can go with something besides a gender-neutral nursery’d be great.”</p>
<p>        “Well, we’ll have to see if this lil booger’s feeling cooperative, huh?” she queried with a chuckle.</p>
<p>        “I guess so since I seem to recall finding out what Zak and Zoe were around five months in,” the Silver Fox said.</p>
<p>        Nodding, his ex-wife said that she’d been around twenty-two weeks when she’d found out their existing childrens’ genders. Considering that she was at that same point in this pregnancy, she was pretty sure they’d be able to find out this one’s gender today. It wasn’t like it wouldn’t be developed enough, if her first two’d been such at this point in her previous pregnancies. To be quite honest, it was more of a matter as to whether the baby’d move into the perfect position for them to tell.</p>
<p>        A quick warning preceded Dr. Aaltojanen squirting the ultrasound gel across her belly, which made her shiver. Nothing could really be done to warm it up, though, and the blonde woman remembered that from her first two pregnancies. For that reason, she waved off her apology as she moved to turn off the Lights while the scanner was warming up so it could actually be used.</p>
<p>        Once the Lights were out so she could see clearly, the young OB/GYN settled on her rolling stool and grabbed the probe. The image that appeared on the screen once it was pressed to Mishy’s belly Revealed their baby’s profile right away. From the looks of things, the lil booger was gonna have its daddy’s nose, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. What was cute and all too endearing to them was when its lil fist roseta its face and it apparently started sucking its thumb.</p>
<p>        The good thing was that the baby appeared to be just as healthy as its mama, despite said mama’s age and the virus that’d killed so many. Blood flow through its placenta and umbilical cord looked perfectly fine, and the young OB/GYN didn’t see anything alarming, like a problem with its tiny heart. Reassured by those findings, the expectant parents kept watching as she moved the probe to a better spot, the baby’s pelvic region coming into view. It took a few momentsta get a good angle, but it wasn’t long before they were able to get a good look at its crotch. Neither one could help the tears that welled up as they processed what they were seeing before looking at each other.</p>
<p>        “Congrats, guys–I’ll eat my own foot, if it’s not a baby girl.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Sixteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Back at home after Mishy’s obstetric appointment and a quick run through the nearest BuyBuy Baby store to start getting nursery ideas, Rob couldn’t help still feeling a bit Emotional. He was still Awed at finding out that not only were they having another baby girl, but one who was apparently gonna be the perfect mixture of the two of them. After all, their son was practically a carbon copy of himself, whereas their existing daughter looked more like his ex-wife. Course, he didn’t really suppose that kinda thing mattered any more than whether this’d finally be a baby who got their mama’s blue eyes, so long as they remained healthy.</p>
<p>        Stepping outta their bedroom after as quick a bathroom break as he could manage, he couldn’t help the smile the curved his lips. The ex-wife in question’d stretched out on the couch after a bathroom break of her own, and from the looks of things, she’d already fallen asleep. Aside from a peacefully-sleeping baby, there wasn’t a more precious sight to him than something like this. He thought she absolutely glowed from her pregnancy as it was, but she was somehow even more beautiful while asleep.</p>
<p>        Heaving a sigh as he shook his head, the Silver Fox headed into his office, Intent on grabbing one of his acoustic basses again. They still hadn’t gotten a chanceta talk about much of anything when it came to what was or wasn’t between them, and it was starting to eat at him. But he wasn’t one to wake someone that was asleep just to talk about something like that, considering it could wait. It didn’t mean that he wasn’t a lil anxiousta do just that, but with getting older came a Patience he hadn’t seemed to have when he was younger.</p>
<p>        Once settled on the couch, Rob made sure his bass was in tune before putting an ear bud in only one ear. He hadn’t played the song that was running through his mind in Years–prolly even decades, for that matter–so he needed a memory refresher on the chords. Not only that, but he could stand a memory refresher on its tempo since he recalled it being a decently slow song.</p>
<p>        With the song set to play so that the piano intro he’d worked on with a former band mate started, he moved his hands into position. From what lil he remembered of this song, he’d a few secondsta prepare himself to actually play his riff. The problem was that it’d been so long since he’d even heard this particular song, let alone played it that he couldn’t remember exactly how long he had. It was a good thing that his hands were already in position, though, ’cuz the MP3 file he was listening to proved he’d less Time than he’d thought. He coulda sworn that he’d closer to thirty seconds before anything beyond piano kicked in, but it turned out that he’d only about thirteen seconds before Rikki’s rhythm kicked in, sixteen before guitar and bass both.</p>
<p>        Lost in the Music as he did his best at playing along with his own decades-old riff as much as intensely focused, the Silver Fox didn’t notice that he was attracting a bit of an audience. In addition to Gunnar and Grayson apparently deciding to listen in, he’d accidentally woken Mishy up from her nap. All three of them wandered over to his office doors, smiles curving their lips as they simply watched and listened.</p>
<p>        “What song was that? I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before.”</p>
<p>        Jumping at the sudden voice after letting his final note ring out, Rob let out a torrent of Finnish and Italian Curses as he jerked his gaze up from his bass.</p>
<p>        “Sorry, Dad,” the taller of the twins chuckled, taking him by surprise with what he called him.</p>
<p>        “We weren’t trying to scare ya,” his brother added with a chuckle of his own.</p>
<p>        “Guess I was just more focused than I realized,” he sighed, setting his bass back on its stand as he pulled his ear bud out. “Y’all gotta quit sneaking up on me like that, though.”</p>
<p>        “Can’t be giving him a heart attack, after all, boys,” Mishy giggled. “It’d be a shame for this baby girl to not get to know her daddy once she’s born.”</p>
<p>        “Ain’t that the Truth?” the Silver Fox chuckled as she waddled over to settle next to him.</p>
<p>        “I’m just as curious as the boys, though,” she admitted. “’Cuz that’s not a song I ever remember ya playing in the Past.”</p>
<p>        “Oh, you’re not gonna scale that wall <em>that</em> easily, woman,” Rob laughed. “Have ya forgotten just how Secretive a Scorpio can be?”</p>
<p>        “Aw, c’mon.” His ex-wife pouted adorably.</p>
<p>        “That won’t work on me anymore,” he told her, unable to help a grin. “Blame our older daughter for that.”</p>
<p>        “Rats!” Mishy giggled, snapping her fingers. “I remember ya falling for the pout so easily, too.”</p>
<p>        “I toldja last Spring that a lot Changes in twenty Years,” the Silver Fox reminded her. “My immunity to the pout’s one of those things, considering how much Zoe used to try it to get her way with just about everything.”</p>
<p>        “But why be so Secretive about what song ya were playing?” Grayson queried, he and his twin having settled in the arm chairs settled perpendicular to the couch they were sitting on.</p>
<p>        “I’ve my reasons, boys,” Rob answered.</p>
<p>        “You’ll learn pretty quickly that Rob’s not a man to pester once he’s made up his mind to keep quiet about something,” his ex-wife told them. “If nothing else’ll royally piss him off, it’s being made to feel like he’s being backed into a corner like that.”</p>
<p>        “She’s definitely right about that,” Rob agreed. “Doesn’t mean I hide shit with any ill Intent most of the Time–it’s just part of my Nature.”</p>
<p>        “Like being stubborn as a Missouri Mule,” she laughed. “’Cuz <em>all</em> us, fixed signs are.”</p>
<p>        Letting out a laugh of his own, the Silver Fox agreed with that statement, his grin a bit on the mischievous side. He wouldn’t give away either of their Birth dates, even though he was pretty sure both of the twins knew Mishy’s already, but he assured her that she was every bit a fixed sign as he was. The difference was that they were pretty much polar opposites in which of the Four Elements ruled their Zodiac signs.</p>
<p>        Before they could get a chanceta question him about that, their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the front door. Since they’d only recently moved in, they hadn’t exactly mingled with any of the locals, so he figured it was prolly Raven. If not her, then he’d lay money on it being his son showing up to get a look at their new house, or even one of their neighbors deciding to finally come over and introduce themselves. However, he was surprised to see an obvious mail carrier standing on his front porch as stepping outta his office allowed him to glance through the sidelight of the front door.</p>
<p>        Much to his surprise, the guy informed him that he’d a package for <em>Robert Kuykendall</em> as soon as he opened the door. Rob knew without question what it was and quickly signed off on it, Wishing the guy a good Day as he closed the door behind him. After all, there was only one thing he’d ordered ever since making the move up from Florida, so it couldn’t have been anything else.</p>
<p>        “Everything all right?” his ex-wife queried as he Returned.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, everything’s fine,” he answered, pulling a pocket knife outta his pocket to cut open his package. “Boys, clear out for a bit.”</p>
<p>        “Um, <em>ooookaaaay,”</em> Gunnar said, sounding a bit uncertain.</p>
<p>        “Hey, chill out,” the Silver Fox chuckled. “Not like I’ma hurt Mom or anything.”</p>
<p>        “Must want privacy for whatever it is,” the shorter twin chuckled.</p>
<p>        “If I wanted total privacy, I’d just drag her off to our room,” Rob told them. “But then you’d start getting the wrong idea, and we’d never hear the End of it.”</p>
<p>        Both teens cracked up as they pushed themselves up from their seats, Mishy’s face turning pink.</p>
<p>        “Jesus Christ, Rob,” she groaned. “Mustcha broadcast what we do behind closed doors?”</p>
<p>        “Too late for that, not that I was actually broadcasting it,” the Silver Fox laughed, closing his office doors behind them.</p>
<p>        “Please tell me you’re joking,” Mishy said.</p>
<p>        “Ask our existing daughter,” he snickered. “’Cuz she’s the one who informed me when I asked her about something completely different.”</p>
<p>        “Oh, my God.” His ex-wife hid her now-red face in her hands. “She seriously heard us going at it?”</p>
<p>        “Kinda hard <em>not</em> to since her room was right over mine down in Florida,” Rob chuckled. “And that house wasn’t exactly soundproof since it was built in the twenties–not that I ever felt the need to since I usually just went over to Raven’s for any romps with her.”</p>
<p>        “My poor baby girl,” she giggled. “I kinda hate that we tormented her like that, but at the same Time, it’s still kinda funny.”</p>
<p>        “Hey, at least she didn’t give us shit over it,” the Silver Fox pointed out as he knelt down. “She told me that she just left and went to Zak’s since she knew we hadn’t meant for her to overhear <em>anything.”</em></p>
<p>        Unable to help a laugh, Mishy agreed that that was prolly their daughter’s best course of action, if they’d been in the middle of a romp at the Time. No doubt she’d have gotten even worse, if she’d tried stomping on the floor to get their attention so they’d tone it down. Trying to do so by knocking on his door prolly wouldn’t have gotten her a very nice reception either, now that they thought about it.</p>
<p>        But her attention was quick to focus on what her ex-husband was doing as he unlatched the case for his acoustic guitar. She couldn’t help her Curiosity as she asked what he was doing, ’cuz while he’d always claimed to be a guitarist before a bassist, she doubted he was about to play. All she got in response was a chuckle that sounded a lil on the mischievous side, but there was definitely amusement coloring it, too. He was clearly up to something, and that Secretive bent of his personality was coming out once again, but she got the feeling she’d find out soon enough.</p>
<p>        With the picture he sought in hand, Rob laid his guitar back in its case before closing it again, then pushed himself up. He couldn’t help a groan as that set his knee to screaming, but that groan quickly died away as he crossed the room back to the couch. Settling next to his ex-wife, he kept that picture turned so she couldn’t see it at first, Intent on filling her in on why he’d even grabbed it before he showed it to her.</p>
<p>        “I was more than a lil surprised when Gunnar and Grayson brought this to me one Night last week,” the Silver Fox told her. “Honestly, I’d forgotten that it even existed, let alone that there was a copy of it floating around.”</p>
<p>        “What is it?” Mishy queried, cocking a brow at him.</p>
<p>        Instead of answering, he simply handed the picture to her face-down.</p>
<p>        “Oh, my God,” his ex-wife breathed, her eyes widening as she took in the image once she’d flipped it over.</p>
<p>        “Yeah, that was more or less my reaction, too,” Rob chuckled. “I dunno <em>which</em> one, but one of those brats of ours musta squirreled that away after our divorceta keep me from burning it.”</p>
<p>        “As bitter as ya were back then, I don’t blame them,” she said, looking back up at them. “Hell, I don’t even know what I did with <em>my</em> copies of our wedding photos, if I even still have them.”</p>
<p>        “Hence why I’m not surprised by, nor mad at them for doing that,” the Silver Fox told her.</p>
<p>        “So, what’s this picture got to do with anything?” Mishy asked.</p>
<p>        “I’ma be dead honest–other than the boys finding it, I’d normally say nothing.” He looked down at his lap as he sighed, then back up at her. “But in Reality, it’s <em>everything</em> to do with the here-and-now.”</p>
<p>        His ex-wife looked confused, and he wasn’t the least bit surprised by that as he took a deep breath so he could explain what he meant. All he could hope for was that she actually heard him out, rather than trying to cut him off like she’d a tendency to do in the Past. God only knew the last thing they needed wasta get into an argument over something petty when things were going so well.</p>
<p>        Rob told her that he wasn’t sure when he’d truly started to believe what his best friend said about him never having gotten over her after their divorce. Maybe it’d been Years ago after a failed attempt at a relationship with the brunette, maybe it’d been more recent–he honestly didn’t know. In fact, he hadn’t even known he’d been looking at her with the same loving adoration that was written all over his face in that picture till it was pointed out to him.</p>
<p>        Mishy’s eyes widened, ’cuz she hadn’t noticed him shooting any such looks at her–at least, not on a conscious level. She admitted that if she’d noticed any such looks from him, she’d most likely written them off so she wouldn’t get her own Hopes up. After all, when they’d first wound up on lockdown together, she was still married to her second husband. Once <em>that</em> divorce’d been finalized, she hadn’t wanted to be living in a delusional Fantasy that’d only lead to a broken heart later on. That was completely understandable to the man sitting next to her, as evidenced by how he nodded his agreement without saying a word.</p>
<p>        Taking another deep breath, the Silver Fox made it quite clear that he’d have to think long and hard about ever getting married again–to her, or anyone else. If he were to remarry <em>her,</em> he’d to know without a Shadow of a doubt that he could trust her in every way, shape, and form possible. He’d a point when he said that going into a marriage with such blatant distrust’d do nothing but lead to Disaster, and she damn well knew it. She didn’t wanna find herself in divorce court for the third Time–and to divorce one of the same men all over again–if she didn’t have to.</p>
<p>        “That being said, I can’t say that I’m not open to giving things another shot and say that I’m telling the Truth,” Rob told her.</p>
<p>        “Seriously?” she queried, her jaw dropping in utter shock.</p>
<p>        “That’s as long as we <em>both</em> want that,” the Silver Fox chuckled. “’Cuz let’s face, if I was gonna get over you, I’d have done it already.”</p>
<p>        “Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Mishy agreed, her giggle sounding a bit <em>off</em> due to her shock.</p>
<p>        “Hell, we don’t ever have to remarry, for all I care,” he admitted. “That mighta been where we went wrong in the first place.”</p>
<p>        “Whyddaya say that?” his ex-wife asked curiously.</p>
<p>        “Well, one of the things Raven’s taught me is to quit trying to fix what ain’t broken,” Rob answered. “Our relationship wasn’t broken when I proposed, nor when we got married.”</p>
<p>        “Ya know, that’s a good point,” she mused.</p>
<p>        “Exactly, ’cuz we might never’ve split up, if we hadn’t gotten married,” the Silver Fox said. “Then again, we mighta <em>still</em> split up for a while eventually–it just wouldn’t have been as messy or expensive.”</p>
<p>        Mishy couldn’t help a laugh as she nodded her agreement.</p>
<p>        “I’m leaving it up to you, though,” he told her. “We’ve both been burnt by Fire at least once, and I know ya might not wanna play with it again, so to speak.”</p>
<p>        “I’m willing to give it another shot, if <em>you</em> are,” his ex-wife told him, not realizing the figurative door she’d just opened for him.</p>
<p>        Chuckling as he finally reached into what he’d cut open a few short minutes ago, Rob pulled out what he’d known he’d find within. He wouldn’t let her see as he opened the lil jewelry box he pulled out, carefully keeping it turned away as he worked its contents loose without damaging the piece. After all, he wanted to surprise her, and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise, if she got the slightest glimpse before he was ready for her to.</p>
<p>        The Silver Fox kept his fist closed around the lil object as he looked back up at her, the lil box settled on the cushion next to him. He certainly hoped this didn’t freak her out too much, if at all, but there was only one way to find out. Still taking care to keep her from seeing it just yet, he moved to wrap something around her neck, his hands disappearing under her hair.</p>
<p>        Mishy’s brow furrowed with confusion as she felt his fingers working at something, but she recognized the chill of Metal against her flesh. She knew without question that he was just putting a necklace on her, but she couldn’t help wondering why he wouldn’t show her its pendant just yet. What was so bad about a necklace pendant that he felt the need to keep it Secret till it was clasped and wouldn’t fall off her? It couldn’t possibly be <em>that</em> bad, but she certainly wasn’t expecting what she heard as he finally let her pick it up to get a good look at it.</p>
<p>        “Don’t make me regret giving ya the key to my Rabbit hole, which leads straight to my heart.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm adding a picture of the necklaceta the Wattpad posting of this chapter for anyone who happensta be curious!<br/>~Firefly</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Seventeen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>April, 2021</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The next three and a-half months passed by seemingly at the speed of Light, maybe even faster than that, depending on who exactly one asked. During that Time, the pair of former spouses managed to more or less work things out so that it not only seemed like they’d never split up, but like they were more in Love than they’d ever been before. Maybe that was ’cuz both knew they were lucky as hell to get a second chance like this, ’cuz such a thing wasn’t ever guaranteed, and neither of them wanted to squander it.</p>
<p>        Aside from their relationship, the other big thing that Rob and Mishy’d been hard at work on was their unborn daughter’s nursery. If there was anything the expectant daddy vetoed before the idea could come outta her mother’s mouth, it was an overload of pink. They’d done that with their older daughter’s nursery, and he’d always felt like he was sitting in a bottle of Pepto-Bismol, if he’d sit in that room to rock her to sleep before bedtime. But that’d quickly led to them bickering back and forth at each other like they’d agreed <em>not</em> to do, and he’d eventually put his foot down. Nothing was ever gonna get accomplished, if they kept behaving that way, and he was reminded of something that could work.</p>
<p>        Since she’d proven herself once already when the Time’d come to redecorate Zoe’s room into something more befitting a lil girl on the verge of womanhood, he called in his best friend. As a more or less impartial third party with a knack for interior design, turning her looseta completely design the nursery on her own was prolly their better option.</p>
<p>        Once she heard him pretty much say <em>Surprise us,</em> the grin she’d shot them as she effectively barred them from the nursery was downright Impish. He knew his best friend would come up with something suitable, but his ex-wife was a lil dubious about his plan. Luckily, all it took to convince her that turning the brunette woman loose was showing her before and after pictures of their older daughter’s room after he’d done the same thing with her. She was still a lil worried about not getting a say in the nursery design now, but she’d a lil more Faith in the woman even she’d come to claim as a friend.</p>
<p>        And pleasantly surprised with the End results of unleashing her on their unborn baby girl’s nursery, the couple most certainly was. Raven’d headed into the nearest BuyBuy Baby store on her own and simply browsed through the available bedding sets till she’d found one that <em>Called</em> to her. It’d a lil bit of pink in it, but the shade was actually more along the lines of Coral as opposed to truly being pink. That was good enough for her daddy, even though he hadn’t wanted <em>any</em> pink in her nursery, mostly ’cuz the chosen set tied back to his own Ancestry. She’d chosen one that screamed <em>Native American,</em> which he’d a lot of in his blood line, but the set was also a reversible one so that the pink wouldn’t have to always be visible.</p>
<p>        Now that the nursery was long since done and Mishy’s due date was on the horizon, it was just a waiting game that neither of them really liked. They were well aware that their daughter could come a couple weeks early, right on Time, or even a couple weeks late. But knowing how uncomfortable her mama was as she closed in on that due date didn’t sit well with her daddy by any means.</p>
<p>        It was on the Night of April twenty-sixth that Rob found himself sleeping alone for the first Time in nearly a Year. He and his ex-wife’d been watching TV on one of the few occasions that she’d managed to get him to sit still for more than five seconds. But the Night previous’d been one of the few occasions that he hadn’t slept well, and it hadn’t taken him more than two or three hoursta start dozing off after he’d stretched out so that his head was against the side of her belly. Knowing he wasn’t gonna be happy when his neck started acting up later, the blonde woman’d gently shooed him off to bed, saying she’d join him once she finally got tired enough.</p>
<p>        But unbeknownst to the Silver Fox, who’d veritably passed out again once he’d crawled into bed, that moment never came.</p>
<p>        “Jesus Christ,” Mishy groaned, pushing herself up off the couch for another bathroom break. “This baby girl’s starting to feel more like a boulder on my bladder.”</p>
<p>        As she waddled through the master bedroom, a hand pressed to her back for support, she couldn’t help the smile that curved her lips. Just like when he was a younger man, her ex-husband was snoring softly, but not so loudly that it woulda kept her awake, had she been next to him. Once he got to that level of sleep, it meant that he’d be well-rested once he woke, but not sleeping so deeply that he’d be impossible to wake up.</p>
<p><em>        “Oooh,</em> fuck me,” she whimpered, grabbing the counter of the sink right outside the Water closet door.</p>
<p><em>        “Mmm,</em> Mishy?”</p>
<p>        Whimpering again as she managed to look over her shoulder, the blonde saw her sleepy-eyed ex-husband had just walked into the bathroom behind her.</p>
<p>        “Do I need to start gathering essentials?” Rob queried, snapping awake as he realized why she was whimpering.</p>
<p>        “I don’t–uh, scratch that.”</p>
<p>        Glancing down at her feet, he easily saw the Beginnings of a puddle forming, but it wasn’t very big. “Didja just piss yourself, or did your water actually break?”</p>
<p>        “I better not’ve just pissed myself,” Mishy managed to chuckle. “I <em>just</em> took a potty break before this one started.”</p>
<p>        “Then I’ma go wake Zoe up so she knows she’s in charge and start grabbing essentials once this one Ends,” the Silver Fox said, gently massaging her back as she took as deep of breaths as she could.</p>
<p>        “Prolly a good idea,” she admitted. “I’ve been contracting for a couple hours, but I wanted to be sure before I woke ya up.”</p>
<p>        “Ya coulda woken me up, even if ya <em>weren’t</em> sure,” Rob chuckled. “’Cuz I’d rather ya cry <em>Wolf!</em> forty-seven Times before it turned out to be the real thing than for anything to happen to either of ya.”</p>
<p>        “Only forty-seven, huh?” his ex-wife giggled, sighing as the contraction finally started to ebb.</p>
<p>        “I’m half-asleep, woman–that was the first number that popped into mind!” he laughed.</p>
<p>        “Whatever works for ya,” Mishy told him. “Go on and get Zoe up while I’m between contractions.”</p>
<p>        “At least perch on the edge of the tub so ya don’t slip in this mess and fall,” the Silver Fox veritably begged as he gently steered her over to said plumbing fixture.</p>
<p>        Nodding her agreement, she didn’t try to argue with him since she’d been through this part on her own twice already. She remembered all too well just how slippery amniotic fluid could be on its own once one’s water broke. Being on tile or any other kinda hard flooring just made the risk of slipping go up, and she really didn’t feel like breaking a hip in the throes of labor.</p>
<p>        With his ex-wife settled so she wouldn’t fall, Rob turned to head back into the master bedroom so he could head upstairs. Ducking into his closet on his way out, he grabbed a pair of jeans that he quickly stepped into and fastened as he left the master suite. He doubted his existing daughter’d wanna see him in nothing but his boxers, even though that was certainly better than nothing at all. But he wasn’t gonna let being shirtless stop him since he could grab a shirt once at least <em>he</em> got back downstairs after letting his daughter know what was going on.</p>
<p>        Once he was upstairs, he didn’t bother knocking on his daughter’s door since it was roughly two in the Morn. She’d always been more like her mother in being an <em>early in the sack, early to rise</em> type, so he knew without a doubt that she was already asleep. And just as he’d suspected, her room was pitch-black, which made him glad that he was able to find his way around with lil or no Light without hurting himself or breaking anything.</p>
<p>        “Zoe,” the Silver Fox hissed, gently shaking her shoulder once he’d found his way over to her bed. “Zoe, wake up, baby girl.”</p>
<p><em>        “Mmm,</em> Daddy?” Zoe obviously sounded displeased as she grumbled. “What Time is it?”</p>
<p>        “Around two in the Morn,” he answered.</p>
<p>        “Wanna go back to sleep,” the young woman groaned.</p>
<p>        “Andja can,” Rob chuckled. “I wanted to letcha know that you’re in charge later.”</p>
<p>        “Wait, what?” That caught her attention enough to make her roll over to face him, then reach up to turn her lamp on.</p>
<p>        “Mama’s water just broke, so I’m about to take her to the hospital,” the Silver Fox explained.</p>
<p>        “It’s really Time?” Zoe queried, her eyes starting to sparkle with excitement.</p>
<p>        “That’s usually what–” he started, only to get cut off.</p>
<p><em>        “Robert</em>–get your ass back down here!”</p>
<p>        “Oh, fuck–that ain’t good,” Rob said, his eyes widening as he jumped up from where he’d perched on the edge of his daughter’s bed.</p>
<p>        “What’s wrong, Daddy?” the young woman queried, tossing her covers off her legs.</p>
<p>        “I know that tone all too well, baby girl,” he answered. “If she’s not already pushing, she’s about to be.”</p>
<p>        Zoe’s eyes widened as she jumped up to follow behind him, innately knowing that they were gonna need help. Grabbing his arm, she suggested that he wake one of the twins so they could be sent next door to grab Raven. After all, the brunette woman’d decided to move up from Florida with them, just not into the same house. Now knowing that her niece was the same woman as her mother’s OB/GYN, she figured that said brunette’d be able to get in touch with her a lot quicker.</p>
<p>        Nodding his agreement, the Silver Fox rerouted his path over to Grayson’s bedroom door, glad to find that it was unlocked. Between the two of them, he was the easier twin to wake up from a dead sleep, not to mention he usually had a better temperament first thing after waking. He’d the feeling that trying to wake Gunnar right now’d be about as useful as another hole in the head.</p>
<p>        Thankfully, Rob was right on the mark with his assumption, ’cuz it didn’t take nearly as much to wake his shorter stepson up. And another thing to be thankful for was that all it took to shock him even more awake and into motion was hearing another one of those blood-curdling screams from downstairs. Even as he all but leapt outta bed to take off for the house next door, he was just grateful for one thing as he headed back down to the master suite, himself. His existing daughter’d majored in a combination of chemistry and pre-med when she was in college, so she could no doubt handle the situation well enough till somebody could get in touch with Sohvi.</p>
<p>        Back in the master bathroom, he wasn’t surprised to see that Zoe’d been forced to help her mother get settled so that she was actually <em>in</em> the tub, rather than perching on the edge of it. Judging by what lil he could see already, there was no way they were making it to a hospital before this baby was born. After all, he wasn’t an expert on this kinda thing by any means, but he was pretty sure that if she wasn’t crowning already, she soon <em>would</em> be. For that reason, he simply knelt down next to the tub’s surround and grabbed her hand, not surprised when she nearly broke his with how tight her grip was.</p>
<p>        “I’ma <em>kill ya</em> for doing thista me–<em>again!”</em> Mishy veritably snarled.</p>
<p>        “To be honest, I wouldn’t try to stop ya,” the Silver Fox chuckled. “You’re the one who was taking the Fertility drugs, but God knows <em>I</em> apparently didn’t put the rubber on right.”</p>
<p>        “Daddy, I don’t need to know that kinda shit!” their daughter laughed.</p>
<p>        “Hey, I’m just speaking the Truth!” Rob retorted with a laugh of his own. “Besides, having to do this <em>au Naturale</em> ain’t exactly helping Mama’s mood and how bad she wantsta kill me right now.”</p>
<p>        “Ya got that right!” his ex-wife snapped, groaning as she obviously fought the urge to push.</p>
<p>        “Deep breaths, sweetheart,” he said, his other hand rising to gently cup her cheek.</p>
<p>        “You say that when <em>you’re</em> the one pushing a kicking Melon outta your crotch!” Mishy growled, the look in her eyes turning a bit deranged.</p>
<p>        Unable to help a chuckle at her choice phrasing, the Silver Fox simply leaned down to press a kissta her forehead. “That’s never gonna happen, unfortunately.”</p>
<p>        “Not like having her doctor on-scene for this will.”</p>
<p>        Laughing as he glanced up, Rob couldn’t believe how lucky they were turning out to be tonight. “Well, I can’t say I saw <em>any</em> of this coming, if I’m honest.”</p>
<p>        “Yeah, I came out to spend the weekend with Auntie Raven,” Sohvi chuckled. “So, what’s the stats?”</p>
<p>        “Water’s already broken, and she’s starting to crown,” the youngest woman reported, moving to make room for her to kneel down, too.</p>
<p>        “You’re surprisingly Calm for finding yourself in the middle of your baby sister’s Birth,” she mused.</p>
<p>        “Majored in chemistry and pre-med in college,” Zoe chuckled. “I wound up starting an internship in a Florida ER that got nixed ’cuz of <em>Godzilla Flu,</em> and one of the cases I’d to help with was a woman who delivered <em>in</em> that ER.”</p>
<p>        “Then you’re gonna be a helluva help now,” the young OB/GYN told her. “Ever started an IV on anyone?”</p>
<p>        “Unfortunately, I never made it that far,” she answered, shaking her head.</p>
<p>        “Then here’s what we’re gonna do,” Sohvi said, ripping into a kit she’d brought with her.</p>
<p>        Even as she started pulling out what she needed, she walked the youngest woman through helping her mother with the Beginnings of the delivery. She knew they’d both prolly be a lil uncomfortable with her having to touch Mishy in such an intimate area, but it was kinda necessary while she was starting that IV. After all, she wanted the mommy-to-be on fluidsta keep her hydrated, and putting her on antibiotics as a preventative measure definitely couldn’t hurt.</p>
<p>        Nodding, Zoe managed to move into a position where she could see what she was doing as she leaned over the tub’s faucet. That left the young OB/GYN free to get that IV started in the back of her mother’s left hand once she’d pulled on a pair of gloves since that was the most accessible spot at the moment. But even as she focused on getting that intravenous needle in without blowing her patient’s vein, she paid strict attention to what was going on next to her so that neither mother, nor child wound up getting hurt.</p>
<p>        Another loud, agonized scream nearly blew Rob’s ear out as he helped his ex-wife curl up for her first real push, but he chose not to remark on it. With the Death-grip she’d his hand in, he was sure that saying anything to her about toning it down’d just get him a broken hand. If not that, then she’d no doubt take her other hand back from her doctor so she could smack him a good one for it.</p>
<p>        It wasn’t more than a minute later that Mishy was all but sobbing, her crotch feeling like it was on Fire as she felt her baby’s head emerge. Luckily, Sohvi was able to take over at that point, quickly checking for a cord as if they were in a hospital delivery room, not the master bathroom of her house. The good thing was that she <em>didn’t</em> find that cord wrapped around the baby’s neck, which allowed her to give the order to push again sooner, rather than later. Hearing such a thing was like a twisted kinda Music to both parents’ ears, ’cuz that meant their second baby girl was gonna be here sooner than not. And that turned out to be more than true, ’cuz it Ended up taking only two or three more pushes before said baby was being lifted onto her mama’s torso.</p>
<p>        The blonde woman couldn’t help a relieved sob as her arms instinctively roseta cradle her newborn, who was already starting to gurgle a bit. Even though tears of Happiness blurred her vision a bit, she was beyond relieved to see her baby alive and well. In fact, she didn’t even notice her doctor holding off on clamping her cord till that gurgling stopped, replaced by her finally taking her first breath and letting out a high-pitched shriek. Only then did she clamp her cord and turn to the Silver Fox with a pair of scissors in hand, which took him back more than a couple decades. He still took the Honor of getting to cut his daughter’s cord, breaking the physical bond between them with a quick movement.</p>
<p>        “All right, Zoe–you’re getting put on the spot again,” the young OB/GYN chuckled.</p>
<p>        “How so?” Zoe queried, sounding nervous.</p>
<p>        “Gotta clean this lil girl up and get her warm,” she answered. “All you’ve to do is stimulate her breathing by rubbing her with this towel.”</p>
<p>        “I think I can handle that,” the young woman said.</p>
<p>        Mishy couldn’t help a whimper as one daughter moved to gently take the other from her.</p>
<p>        “Hey, look at me,” the Silver Fox murmured, gently cupping her cheek. “Ya know Zoe’s not gonna let anything happen to her new baby sister.”</p>
<p>        “She’s in good hands with her big sister, Mishy,” Sohvi told her. “Just like <em>you’re</em> in good hands with me while delivering that placenta.”</p>
<p>        Nodding, the exhausted new mama managed to scrounge up the Energy to get through that part so she could be cleaned up.</p>
<p>        “Think ya can pick her up from there, Rob?” the young OB/GYN queried once she’d cleaned her up as much as she could without running her a bath.</p>
<p>        “Prolly better to let Grayson do that,” Rob admitted. “I’d to have a discectomy and spinal fusion back in ’01, and without the right leverage, I’ma wind up hurting myself ’cuz of that.”</p>
<p>        “We can’t have that,” she chuckled, waving over the teen who’d watched the delivery in Silent Awe next to her aunt.</p>
<p>        “WhaddaI need to do?” said teen asked.</p>
<p>        “You’re gonna pick her up bridal-style,” Sohvi answered. “I’m assuming ya know what I mean by that?”</p>
<p>        Confused, Grayson shook his head.</p>
<p>        “She means kinda like this,” Zoe spoke up with a chuckle, cradling the newborn against her breast.</p>
<p>        “Difference is, you’re gonna have Mishy’s legs draped over one arm since she’s obviously a lot bigger,” the young OB/GYN told him.</p>
<p>        Nodding, he traded places with the man he now considered his father so that he was kneeling next to the tub. He managed to slide his arms under Mishy and haul her up against his chest, but that was when the real work Began. It wasn’t very easy to get back to his feet with a grown woman who was all but dead weight in his arms, which made him grunt with the effort.</p>
<p>        Chuckling as he helped him find his balance, Rob bit back a wince at how his knee was screaming at him for kneeling like that for so long. As he turned to follow the group into the bedroom, he was just glad that there’d been a healthy delivery once again. In fact, he honestly didn’t care whether or not mom and baby were taken to the hospital to be checked out, considering that her OB/GYN was already on-scene. Women’d been giving Birth in worse situations for Centuries before any of them existed, and clearly, humanity’d survived to evolve into what it was today just fine.</p>
<p>        Once settled in their bed, Mishy shot a pleading look at her older daughter, who was practically dancing as she cradled her fussy sister. She needed the reassurance of holding her newborn again, not to mention to alleviate some of the pressure built up in her breasts as her milk started coming in. Till she got that reassurance, there was no way she was gonna fall asleep–and if she did, it wouldn’t be particularly restful for her.</p>
<p>        A tender smile curved her lips as Zoe settled her new sister in her arms, which allowed her to position her so she could latch on for her first feeding. That smile was accompanied by a soft sigh as she felt the baby girl do just that, and she couldn’t help feeling Blessed. After all those Years of Fertility drugs that’d reaped no results, she knew that this child was definitely a Blessing from above. Whether from a monotheistic or polytheistic Deity, she didn’t particularly care–this was something she hadn’t thought was gonna happen, especially with the Silver Fox. If anything made this baby’s Birth that much more of a Blessing, it was the second chance with her ex that conceving’d also brought her.</p>
<p>        “Happy birthday, Zephyrine Bailey Kuykendall. You’re a luckier and more loved baby girl than ya even realize right now.”</p>
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